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Compare Svalbard (2001) - Laos (2005)
Compare Svalbard (2001) z Laos (2005)
| Svalbard (2001) | Laos (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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 | - | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 44 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 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:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
62,049 sq km land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$11.5 million expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Longyearbyen | Vientiane |
| Climate | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 3,587 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | - | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) | - |
| Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $2.49 billion (2001) |
| Dependency status | territory of Norway; administered by the Ministry of Industry, Oslo, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was given to Norway | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
| Disputes - international | focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia | 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 | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) | $243 million (2001 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus. | 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 | NA kWh | 3.036 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 400 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | - | 125 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.56 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996) | 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:
King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
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 | NA |
| Exports - commodities | - | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin |
| Exports - partners | - | Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | - | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | the flag of Norway is used | 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 - $NA | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 6% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 78 00 N, 20 00 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 | NA |
| Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | - | Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) |
| Independence | none (territory of Norway) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9.7% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | - | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | 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) | NA% | 12.3% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | 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) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 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 | NA | 2.6 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | 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% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) |
arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Russian, Norwegian | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | NA | 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 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:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
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
total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002) |
| Location | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Arctic Region | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia territorial sea: 4 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
| Military - note | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) | 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 | - | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $10.7 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.5% (2004) |
| National holiday | NA | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | - | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | ice floes often block up the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic | floods, droughts |
| Natural resources | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | refined products 540 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
| Population | 2,332 (July 2001 est.) | 6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -3.55% (2001 est.) | 2.42% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | NA | - |
| 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: 0.98 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 |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
probably adequate domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
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 | NA | 61,900 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 55,200 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 4 (1999) |
| Terrain | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | - | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 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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