Compare Tuvalu (2006) - Laos (2006)

Compare Tuvalu (2006) z Laos (2006)

	Tuvalu (2006)	Laos (2006)

Administrative divisions	none	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: 30.2% (male 1,819/female 1,752) 15-64 years: 64.7% (male 3,715/female 3,923) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 228/female 373) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 41.4% (male 1,324,207/female 1,313,454) 15-64 years: 55.4% (male 1,744,206/female 1,786,139) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 89,451/female 111,024) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	1 (2006)	44 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2006)
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than Utah
Background	In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period.	Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came 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 and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.
Birth rate	22.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	35.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $22.78 million expenditures: $14.23 million; including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $319.3 million expenditures: $434.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Funafuti geographic coordinates: 8 30 S, 179 12 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet	name: Vientiane geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	24 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	1 October 1978	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Tuvalu local long form: none local short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos PDR or Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Death rate	7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	11.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$2.49 billion (2001)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26 7000 FAX: [856] 21-26 7074
Diplomatic representation in the US	Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534	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; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over several areas along Mekong River and Thai squatters; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Economic aid - recipient	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)	$243 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview	Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. About 1,000 Tuvaluans are being repatriated from Nauru, with the decline of phosphate resources there. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.	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, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on exports. This new status may help spur growth. In addition, the European Union has agreed to provide $1 million to the Lao Government for technical assistance in preparations for WTO membership. If the avian flu worsens and spreads in the region, however, prospects for tourism could dim.
Electricity - consumption	-	3.298 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	-	435 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	-	230 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	-	3.767 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary	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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010) election results: Apisai IELEMIA elected Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election on 14 August 2006	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006) and Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit [since 8 June 2006], Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97%
Exports	$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2005)	Thailand 29.6%, Vietnam 12%, France 6.1%, Germany 4.6% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands	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: 16.6% NA% industry: 27.2% NA% services: 56.2% NA%	agriculture: 45.5% industry: 28.7% services: 25.8% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2002 est.)	7.3% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
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	$9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2005)	Thailand 66.1%, China 9%, Vietnam 6.7% (2005)
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	13% (2005 est.)
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: 19.47 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 83.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 92.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.7% (2003 est.)	7% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	NA	1,750 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)	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	3,615 (2004 est.)	2.8 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (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: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005)	arable land: 4.01% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005)
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	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 Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15	unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.32 years male: 66.08 years female: 70.66 years (2006 est.)	total population: 55.49 years male: 53.45 years female: 57.61 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002)
Location	Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Oceania	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 196,790 GRT/256,436 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 37, chemical tanker 1, container 2, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 43 (China 23, Hong Kong 8, Kenya 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Thailand 1, Turkey 2) (2006)	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2006)
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	no regular military forces; Police Force	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$11.04 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	0.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level	floods, droughts
Natural resources	fish	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALY Sayasone]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	11,810 (July 2006 est.)	6,368,481 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	34% (2005 est.)
Population growth rate	1.51% (2006 est.)	2.39% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)
Religions	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%	Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite	general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; 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	700 (2002)	90,067 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (2004)	520,546 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2004)	7; note - including one station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi (2006)
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)	4.68 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	2.4% (2005 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 (2005)

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.