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Compare Svalbard (2008) - Laos (2003)
Compare Svalbard (2008) z Laos (2003)
| Svalbard (2008) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
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 | 4 (2007) | 51 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 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 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 42
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2002) |
| Area | total: 61,020 sq km
land: 61,020 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. | 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 | 36.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $25.07 million
expenditures: $NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est. est.) |
| Capital | name: Longyearbyen
geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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 | - | kip (LAK) |
| Death rate | NA | 12.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $2.53 billion (1999) |
| Dependency status | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway | - |
| 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 | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone | 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 | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) | $345 million (1999 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave 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 hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. | 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: 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; 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 | 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 ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003) | 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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003) 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 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 | $197.6 million (2004) | 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 | 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 - $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 | NA% | 5.7% (2002 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; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| Heliports | 1 (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%: 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 | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | - | Thailand 58.9%, Vietnam 12.3%, China 7.9% (2002) |
| Independence | none (territory of Norway) | 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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 | none | 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 | NA | 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 | 2.4 million (1999) |
| 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% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005) |
arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Norwegian, Russian | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply | 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 54.3 years
male: 52.34 years female: 56.33 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.8% male: 67.5% female: 38.1% (2003 est.) |
| 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 | territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
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 - note | demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 | - |
| 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 | ice floes often block 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, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | NA | 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 | 2,214 (July 2007 est.) | 5,921,545 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | - | 40% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.007% (2007 est.) | 2.45% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | 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 | NA (2007 est.) | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 25,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 4,915 (1997) |
| 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 | 4.94 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| 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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