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Compare Norfolk Island (2005) - Laos (2001)
Compare Norfolk Island (2005) z Laos (2001)
| Norfolk Island (2005) | Laos (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
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 | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 51 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 | NA | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
| Capital | Kingston | Vientiane |
| Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 32 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 | NA | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | NA | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) |
| Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 | none (territory of Australia) | 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 | none | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | $345 million (1999 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 kWh | 173.6 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 705 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | - | 142 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | NA kWh | 792 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | 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 | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
| Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 - NA | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | landlocked |
| Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | NA | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
| Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong |
| Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 33% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | UPU | 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 | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | 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 | 1,345 | 1 million - 1.5 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
| Military branches | - | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $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 | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | floods, droughts, and blight |
| Natural resources | fish | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | petroleum products 136 km |
| Political parties and leaders | none | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
| Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 46.1% (1993 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.48% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 730,000 (1997) |
| Railways | - | 0 km |
| Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
| Sex ratio | NA | 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: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 25,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 4,915 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 4 (1999) |
| Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | NA | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 0% | 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 |
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