1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
236,804 km2; 8% agricultural, 60% forests, 32% urban, waste, and other; except in very limited areas, soil is very poor; most of forested area is not exploitable
Land boundaries
5,053 km
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
48% Lao; 25% Phoutheung (Kha); 14% Tribal Tai; 13% Meo, Yao, and other
Labor force
about 1-1.5 million; 80%-90% agriculture
Language
Lao official, French predominant foreign language
Literacy
about 15%
Nationality
noun—Lao or Laotian (sing.); Laotians (pl.); adjective—Lao or Laotian
Organized labor
only labor organization is subordinate to the Communist Party
Population
3,577,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.7%
Religion
50% Buddhist, 50% animist and other
Government
Branches
President; 40-member Supreme People's Council; Cabinet; Cabinet is totally Communist but Council contains a few nominal neutralists and non-Communists; National Congress of People's Representatives established the current government structure in December 1975
Capital
Vientiane
Elections
elections for National Assembly, originally scheduled for 1 April 1976, have not yet been held Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (Communist), party chairman Kayson Phomvihan, includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; third congress of Lao People's Revolutionary Party scheduled for first half of 1982; other parties are moribund
Government leaders
President SOUPHANOUVONG; Prime Minister KAYSON PHOMVIHAN; Deputy Prime Ministers NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN, PHOUMI VONGVICHIT, PHOUN SIPASEUT, KHAMTAI SIPHANDON, and SALI VONGKHAMSAO
Legal system
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IPU, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, SEAMES, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
2 December
Official name
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Other political or pressure groups
non-Communist political groups are moribund; most leaders have fled the country
Political subdivisions
13 provinces subdivided into districts, cantons, and villages
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
Communist state
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—rice (overwhelmingly dominant), corn, vegetables, tobacco, coffee, cotton; formerly self-sufficient; food shortages (due in part to distribution deficiencies), including rice
Aid
economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF (1970-79), $235 million; US (FY70-80), $276 million; military— US assistance $1,119.5 million (1970-75)
Budget
(1979 est.) receipts, $54.7 million; expenditures, $174.2 million; deficit $119.5 million
Electric power
141,000 kW capacity (1980); 887 million kWh produced (1980), 253 kWh per capita
Exports
$15 million (f.o.b., 1979 est.); electric power, forest products, tin concentrates; coffee, undeclared exports of opium and tobacco
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GNP
$290 million, $90 per capita (1977 est.)
Imports
$80 million (c.i.f., 1979 est.); rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment
Major industries
tin mining, timber, tobacco, textiles, electric power
Major trade partners
imports from Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, China, Vietnam; exports to Thailand and Malaysia; trade with Communist countries insignificant; Laos was once a major transit point in world gold trade, value of 1973 gold reexports $55 million
Monetary conversion rate
US$1=400 kip (since June 1978)
Shortages
capital equipment, petroleum, transportation system, trained personnel
Communications
Airfields
88 total, 76 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 13 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Highways
about 21,300 km total; 1,300 km bituminous or bituminous treated; 5,900 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 14,100 km unimproved earth and often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September
Inland waterways
about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m
Ports (river)
5 major, 4 minor
Telecommunications
service to general public considered poor; radio network provides generally erratic service to government users; approx. 10 AM stations; over 2,000 est. telephones; 1 ground satellite station
Military and Security
Lao People's Liberation Army (LPLA)
the LPLA consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements
Military manpower
males 15-49, 845,000; 453,000 fit for military service; 40,000 reach military age (18) annually; no conscription age specified