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Compare Oman (2004) - Laos (2005)
Compare Oman (2004) z Laos (2005)
| Oman (2004) | Laos (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 5 regions (manaatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhaafazaat, singular - muhaafaza) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar* | 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, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 628,078; female 603,829)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 955,765; female 643,687) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 38,761; female 33,045) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 1,300,094/female 1,289,227)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 1,693,494/female 1,737,196) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 88,744/female 108,386) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 135 (2003 est.) | 44 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 52 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.) |
total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. | Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. 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, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. |
| Birth rate | 37.12 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $8.218 billion
expenditures: $7.766 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Muscat | Vientiane |
| Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 2,092 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | - |
| Death rate | 3.91 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $5.973 billion (2003 est.) | $2.49 billion (2001) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-698989 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH
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 Muhammad bin Ali bin Thani al-KHUSSAIBY
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
| Disputes - international | boundary agreement signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves | Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while ongoing disputes over squatters and boundary encroachment by Thailand including Mekong River islets persist; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels |
| Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | $243 million (2001 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Oman is a small, well-off middle Eastern economy with large oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2000. In order to reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., the process of Omanization. Training in information technology, business management, and English support this objective. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources. | 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 6% in 1988-2004 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. The government has sponsored major improvements in the road system. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on their exports; this may help spur growth. |
| Electricity - consumption | 8.625 billion kWh (2001) | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 400 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 125 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 9.274 billion kWh (2001) | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000), 0.3845 (1999) | kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister 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 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphadon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin |
| Exports - partners | South Korea 18.7%, China 18.5%, Japan 16.2%, Thailand 12.2%, UAE 7.8%, Iran 4.1% (2003) | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical 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 - $36.7 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 42.1% services: 54.8% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2003 est.) | 6% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 34,965 km
paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 25,292 km (2001) |
total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
| Illicit drugs | - | estimated cultivation in 2004 - 10,000 hectares, a 45% decrease from 2003; estimated potential production in 2004 - 49 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003 (2005) |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | UAE 21.6%, Japan 17.1%, US 6.2%, UK 5.6%, Germany 4.4%, India 4.4% (2003) | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) |
| Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.2% (2003 est.) | 9.7% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.3% (2003 est.) | 12.3% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO | ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law |
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 | 920,000 (2002 est.) | 2.6 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 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: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2001) |
arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by universal suffrage for four-year term; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: NA |
unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)
elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.85 years
male: 70.66 years female: 75.16 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 75.8% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT
by type: passenger 2 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
| Military - note | - | Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005) |
| Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $242.07 million (2003) | $10.7 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.4% (2003) | 0.5% (2004) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 796,792 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 443,006 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 31,274 (2004 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | floods, droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004) | refined products 540 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | none | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
| Population | 2,903,165
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 40% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 3.35% (2004 est.) | 2.42% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.49 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007 | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
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: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 233,900 (2002) | 61,900 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 464,900 (2002) | 55,200 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 4 (1999) |
| Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | 5.9 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
| Waterways | - | 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003) |
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