Compare Swaziland (2005) - Laos (2005)

Compare Swaziland (2005) z Laos (2005)

	Swaziland (2005)	Laos (2005)

Administrative divisions	4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni	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: 40.6% (male 240,643/female 235,895) 15-64 years: 55.6% (male 327,661/female 325,400) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 19,273/female 25,028) (2005 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	sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	18 (2004 est.)	44 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 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: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (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: 17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection	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	27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $494.6 million expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $284.3 million expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital	Vientiane
Climate	varies from tropical to near temperate	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland	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	25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$320 million (2002 est.)	$2.49 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959	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 Mary Madzandza KANYA chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254	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	none	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	$104 million (2001)	$243 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview	In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly three-quarters of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS.	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	1.173 billion kWh (2002)	3.036 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	400 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)	125 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	402 million kWh (2002)	3.56 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion	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, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	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	African 97%, European 3%	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)	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 MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch	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	soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004)	Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally	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: 16.1% industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 49.5% industry: 27.5% services: 23% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.5% (2004 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	26 30 S, 31 30 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa	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: 3,107 km paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000)	total: 21,716 km paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 50.2% (1995)	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	motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004)	Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)
Independence	6 September 1968 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	3.7% (FY95/96)	9.7% (2001 est.)
Industries	mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel	tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 69.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 72.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 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)	5.4% (2004 est.)	12.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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	690 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	High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch	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	383,200 (2000)	2.6 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	NA	agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 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: 10.35% permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001)	arable land: 3.8% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001)
Languages	English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round	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: 33.22 years male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 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 total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)
Location	Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	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	Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005)	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$40.5 million (2004)	$10.7 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2004)	0.5% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 September (1968)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	drought	floods, droughts
Natural resources	asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	political parties are banned by the government - the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	1,173,900 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)	6,217,141 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (1995)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	0.25% (2005 est.)	2.42% (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004)	AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 301 km narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)	-
Religions	Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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	46,200 (2003)	61,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	88,000 (2003)	55,200 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	5 plus 7 relay stations (2004)	4 (1999)
Terrain	mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.)	4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	34% (2000 est.)	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)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.