1983 Edition

Agriculture

virtually none, dependent on imports for food; approx. 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported

main crops — rice (overwhelmingly dominant), corn, vegetables, tobacco, coffee, cotton; formerly self-sufficient; food shortages (due in part to distribution deficiencies) include rice

Aid

economic commitments — Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF (1970-81), $300 million; US (FY70-79), $276 million; military— US assistance $1.119 billion (197075)

Airfields

1 1 total, 6 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 1 with runways 1,2202,439 m

67 total, 54 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 12 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

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

Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Budget

(1982/83) $14.9 billion revenues, $11.1 billion expenditures

(1979est.) receipts, $54.7 million; expenditures, $174.2 million; deficit $119.5 million

Capital

Vientiane

Civil air

21 major transport aircraft

CNP

$320 million, $90 per capita (1982 est.)

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 Kaysone Phomvihan, includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; other parties moribund

Electric power

3,387,300 kW capacity (1982); 10.385 billion kWh produced (1982), 6,687 kWh per capita

175,000 kW capacity (1983); 900 million kWh produced (1983), 246 kWh per capita

Exports

$10.75 billion (f.o.b., 1982 est), of which petroleum accounted for about !

$26 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 Communications

1 July-30 June Communications

GDP

$27.6 billion (1981), $25,850 per capita (1983)

Government leaders

SOUPHANOUVONG, President; KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN, Chairman

Highways

2,875 km total; 2,585 km bituminous; 290 km earth, sand, light gravel

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

Imports

$7.2 billion (f.o.b., 1982 est.); major suppliers— Japan, US, FRG, UK

$88 million (c.i.f., 1979 est.); rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment

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

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Major industries

crude petroleum production average for 1981, 980,000 b/d; effective refinery capacity approximately 0.5 million b/d; other major industries include petrochemicals, retail trade, and manufacturing; water desalinization capacity 387.6 million liters per day (1981)

tin mining, timber, green coffee, electric power

Major trade partners

imports — Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, China, Vietnam; exports — Thailand, Malaysia

Member of

ADB — Asian Development Bank, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 30 June 1984, $939 million; 8.1% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, about 438,000; about 266,000 fit for military service

males 15-49, 890,000; 475,000 fit for military service; 43,000 reach military age (18) annually; no conscription age specified

Monetary conversion rate

.2911 Kuwaiti dinar=US$l (December 1983)

35 kips=US$l (February 1984)

National holiday

2 December

Other political or pressure groups

nonCommunist political groups moribund; most leaders have fled the country

Pipelines

crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas, 121 km

370 km under survey

Political subdivisions

13 provinces subdivided into districts, cantons, and villages

Ports

3 major (Ash-Shuwaikh, AshShuaybah, Mina al-Ahmadi), 4 minor

Ports (river)

5 major, 4 minor

Railroads

none

Shortages

capital equipment, petroleum, transportation system, trained personnel

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Telecommunications

excellent international and adequate domestic telecommunication facilities; 214,800 telephones (15.3 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 2 FM, and 3 TV stations; 1 satellite station with 1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean antennas Defense Forces

service to general public considered poor; radio network provides generally erratic service to government users; approx. 10 AM stations; 1 TV station; over 2,000 est. telephones; 1 ground satellite station Defense Forces

Type

Communist state