Compare Pacific Ocean (2003) - Laos (2003)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2003) z Laos (2003)

	Pacific Ocean (2003)	Laos (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	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: 42.2% (male 1,255,172; female 1,242,823) 15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,592,697; female 1,639,431) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,192; female 104,230) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	-	51 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002)
Area	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	slightly larger than Utah
Background	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.	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	-	36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.)
Capital	-	Vientiane
Climate	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	135,663 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	-	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	-	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	-	12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$2.53 billion (1999)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas A. HARTWICK 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 PHANTHONG Phommahaxay chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters
Economic aid - recipient	-	$345 million (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.	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% in 1988-2001 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. 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.
Electricity - consumption	-	824.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	400 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	-	1.317 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 1.4% hydro: 98.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	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	-	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	-	kips per US dollar - 7,562 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (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 Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since NA 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 NA 2007); 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	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin
Exports - partners	-	Vietnam 25.7%, Thailand 19%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	-	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	-	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 - $10.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 53% industry: 23% services: 24% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	5.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 160 00 W	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Highways	-	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
Illicit drugs	-	world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2002 - 23,200 hectares, a 5% increase over 2001; estimated potential production in 2002 - 180 metric tons, a 10% decrease from 2001); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002)
Independence	-	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	7.5% (1999 est.)
Industries	-	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 88.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 99.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	10% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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	-	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	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	-	2.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	-	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: 3.47% permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	-	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	-	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 NA 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: 54.3 years male: 52.34 years female: 56.33 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.8% male: 67.5% female: 38.1% (2003 est.)
Location	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Political Map of the World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	-	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	-	Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$55 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	4.2% (FY96)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 1,411,042 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 759,499 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 67,260 (2003 est.)
National holiday	-	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	-	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December	floods, droughts
Natural resources	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	-	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	-	5,921,545 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	-	2.45% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)	none
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	-	0 km
Religions	-	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone 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	-	25,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	4,915 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	-	4 (1999)
Terrain	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	-	4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Transportation - note	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)	-
Unemployment rate	-	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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