Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - Laos (2005)

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z Laos (2005)

	Sierra Leone (2007)	Laos (2005)

Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western	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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 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	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	10 (2007)	44 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	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: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina	slightly larger than Utah
Background	The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.	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	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $284.3 million expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Vientiane
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	402 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Death rate	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)	$2.49 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471	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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793	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	as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998	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	$343.4 million (2005 est.)	$243 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.	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	227.9 million kWh (2005)	3.036 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	400 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	125 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	245 million kWh (2005)	3.56 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	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	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)	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: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%	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 bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)	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 equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue	three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 49.5% industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.1% (2006 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 30 N, 11 30 W	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Heliports	2 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)	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 bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)	Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	9.7% (2001 est.)
Industries	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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)	1% (2002 est.)	12.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	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	300 sq km (2003)	1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court	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	1.369 million (1981 est.)	2.6 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 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: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005)	arable land: 3.8% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001)
Languages	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10	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: 40.58 years male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)	total population: 55.08 years male: 53.07 years female: 57.17 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)	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	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$10.7 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)	0.5% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms	floods, droughts
Natural resources	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	trade unions and student unions	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)	6,217,141 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	70.2% (2004)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	2.292% (2007 est.)	2.42% (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Religions	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)	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	24,000 (2002)	61,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)	55,200 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1999)	4 (1999)
Terrain	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	5.7% (1997 est.)
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)	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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