Montenegro (2006) | Laos (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevia, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgornica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak | 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
42.75% (male 1,212,577; female 1,196,795) 15-64 years: 53.94% (male 1,494,927; female 1,544,851) 65 years and over: 3.31% (male 85,632; female 101,185) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
Airports | 5 (2006) | 51 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly larger than Utah |
Background | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries it was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocratic state ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and, at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. Following a three-year postponement, Montenegro held an independence referendum in the spring of 2006 under rules set by the EU. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded the 55% threshold, allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. | In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2004) | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Vientiane |
Climate | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 293.5 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly) | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
conventional long form:
Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
Currency | - | kip (LAK) |
Death rate | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004) | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Karen Brevard STEWART embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC | chief of mission:
Ambassador VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
Disputes - international | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $345 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. | The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% during 1988-97. Reform efforts subsequently slowed, and GDP growth dropped an average of 3 percentage points. Because Laos depends heavily on its trade with Thailand, it was damaged by the regional financial crisis beginning in 1997. Government mismanagement deepened the crisis, and from June 1997 to June 1999 the Lao kip lost 87% of its value. Laos' foreign exchange problems peaked in September 1999 when the kip fell from 3,500 kip to the dollar to 9,000 kip to the dollar in a matter of weeks. Now that the currency has stabilized, however, the government seems content to let the current situation persist, despite limited government revenue and foreign exchange reserves. A landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, Laos has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; Japan is currently the largest bilateral aid donor; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. |
Electricity - consumption | NA | 173.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 705 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 142 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.864 billion kWh 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 792 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m |
lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 10 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
chief of state:
President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since NA March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since NA March 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers THONGLOUN Sisolit (since NA March 2001), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | $171.3 million (2003) | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2003) | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: % NA
industry: % NA services: % NA |
agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 30 N, 19 18 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along the Adriatic coast | landlocked |
Highways | - | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 1999 - 21,800 hectares, a 16% decrease over 1998; estimated potential production in 1999 - 140 metric tons, about the same as in 1998); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis |
Imports | $601.7 million (2003) | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
Imports - partners | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2003) | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong |
Independence | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro); note - a referendum on independence was held 21 May 2006 | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2004) | 33% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, ICFTU, ILO, Interpol, IPU, ITU, OSCE, UN, UPU, WHO, WTO (observer) | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) |
Labor force | 259,100 (2004) | 1 million - 1.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004) |
agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
total:
5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect - official), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly (81 seats, elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats at the time of the elections)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Coalition for a European Montenegro 41, SNS 12, Coalition SPP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Democratic League-Democratic Prosperity 1, Democratic Union of Albanians 1, Albanian Alternative 1 |
unicameral National Assembly (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - by presidential decree, on 27 October 1997, the number of seats increased from 85 to 99)
elections: last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 99 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | NA | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 4 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2006) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces | - |
Military branches | - | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.306 billion | $55 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 13 July | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | floods, droughts, and blight |
Natural resources | bauxite, hydroelectricity | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 136 km |
Political parties and leaders | Albanian Alternative or AA; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for a European Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS and Social Democratic Party or SDP) [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Coalition SPP/NS/DSS; Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC] | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
Population | 630,548 (2004) | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 12.2% (2003) | 46.1% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.5% (2004) | 2.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | 31 (2004) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 730,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); two international switches connect the national system |
general assessment:
service to general public is poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: radiotelephone communications international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 177,663 (2005) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 543,220 (2005) | 4,915 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (2004) | 4 (1999) |
Terrain | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.7% (2005) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 4,587 km approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m |