1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 236,800 km2 land area: 230,800 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Utah
Climate
tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods
International disputes
boundary dispute with Thailand
Irrigated land
1,200 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 5,083 km, Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Land use
arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 58% other: 35%
Location
Southeast Asia, between Vietnam and Thailand
Map references
Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Note
landlocked
Terrain
mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
People and Society
Birth rate
43.82 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
15.22 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Lao 50%, Phoutheung (Kha) 15%, tribal Thai 20%, Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other 15%
Infant mortality rate
104.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1-1.5 million by occupation: agriculture 85-90% (est.)
Languages
Lao (official), French, English
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 51.18 years male: 49.67 years female: 52.77 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15-45 can read and write (1985) total population: 84% male: 92% female: 76%
Nationality
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
4,569,327 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
2.86% (1993 est.)
Religions
Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15%
Total fertility rate
6.16 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng, nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamsai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Sekong, Vientiane, Vientiane*, Xaignabouri,, Xiangkhoang
Capital
Vientiane
Chief of State
President NOUHAK Phoumsavan (since 25 November 1992)
Constitution
promulgated August 1991
Digraph
LA
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM Phommachanh chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 332-6416 or 6417
Executive branch
president, prime minister and two deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
FAX
(856) 4675
Flag
three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
Head of Government
Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 15 August 1991)
Independence
19 July 1949 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme People's Court
Legal system
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
National Assembly
Member of
ACCT (associate), AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
National holiday
National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic)
Other political or pressure groups
non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders fled the country in 1975
Political parties and leaders
Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; includes Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC); other parties moribund
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Third National Assembly
last held on 20 December 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total) number of seats by party NA
Type
Communist state
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles B. SALMON, Jr. embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane, or AMEMB, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: (856) 2220, 2357, 2384
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 60% of GDP and employs most of the work force; subsistence farming predominates; normally self-sufficient in nondrought years; principal crops - rice (80% of cultivated land), sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, cotton; livestock - buffaloes, hogs, cattle, poultry
Budget
revenues $83 million; expenditures $188.5 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990 est.)
Currency
1 new kip (NK) = 100 at
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $605 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $995 million
Electricity
226,000 kW capacity; 990 million kWh produced, 220 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
new kips (NK) per US$1 - 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989), 385 (1988), 200 (1987)
Exports
$72 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin partners: Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US, China
External debt
$1.1 billion (1990 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, third-largest opium producer
Imports
$238 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.) commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures partners: Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam, China
Industrial production
growth rate 12% (1991 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1991 est.)
Industries
tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
10% (1991)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $900 million (1991)
National product per capita
$200 (1991)
National product real growth rate
4% (1991)
Overview
One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of productive enterprises of any size. In recent years, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure; that is, it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, limited external and internal telecommunications, and electricity available in only a limited area. Subsistence agriculture is the main occupation, accounting for over 60% of GDP and providing about 85-90% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend for its survival on foreign aid from the IMF and other international sources; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has been cut sharply.
Unemployment rate
21% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 54 usable: 41 with permanent-surface runways: 8 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15
Highways
about 27,527 km total; 1,856 km bituminous or bituminous treated; 7,451 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 18,220 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
Pipelines
petroleum products 136 km
Ports
none
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
service to general public practically non-existant; radio communications network provides generally erratic service to government users; 7,390 telephones (1986); broadcast stations - 10 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Lao People's Army (LPA; including naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 980,274; fit for military service 528,450; reach military age (18) annually 43,849 (1993 est.)