Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Laos (2007)

Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Laos (2007)

	Western Sahara (2008)	Laos (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)	15 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang
Age structure	0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421) 15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252) 15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Airports	9 (2007)	42 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007)
Area	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado	slightly larger than Utah
Background	Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008.	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	NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $392.3 million expenditures: $541.3 million (2006 est.)
Capital	none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Vientiane geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline	1,110 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	-	promulgated 14 August 1991
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	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	NA	11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$3.179 billion (2006)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
Disputes - international	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria	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 islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$379 million (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.	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% per year in 1988-2006 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 hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system.
Electricity - consumption	79.05 million kWh (2005)	1.193 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	728 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	326 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	85 million kWh (2005)	1.715 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Environment - current issues	sparse water and lack of arable land	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements 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	Arab, Berber	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)	kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002)
Executive branch	none	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for 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	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	phosphates 62%	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	Thailand 41%, Vietnam 9.7%, China 4.1%, Malaysia 4% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
Flag description	-	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: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%	agriculture: 42.7% industry: 31% services: 26.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	8.3% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 30 N, 13 00 W	18 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	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%: 3.4% highest 10%: 28.5% (2002)
Illicit drugs	-	estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem
Imports	1,698 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.5% (2006)
Independence	-	19 July 1949 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	15.7% (2006 est.)
Industries	phosphate mining, handicrafts	copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%	6.8% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	none	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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	NA	1,750 sq km (2003)
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	12,000	2.1 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)	arable land: 4.01% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Legal system	-	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	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: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 55.89 years male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2007)
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	-	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	-	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Nationality	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility	floods, droughts
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 540 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	-	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Population	382,617 note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)	6,521,998 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	30.7% (2005 est.)
Population growth rate	NA	2.37% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006)
Religions	Muslim	Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census)
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco	general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	90,067 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	638,200 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	NA	7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Total fertility rate	NA	4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	2.4% (2005 est.)
Waterways	-	4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007)

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