1994 Edition

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, Xekong, Vientiane, Viangchan*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang

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

Airports

total: 53 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

Area

total area: 236,800 sq km land area: 230,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Birth rate

43.23 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Lao People's Army (LPA; including naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Budget

revenues: $83 million expenditures: $188.5 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990 est.)

Capital

Vientiane

Climate

tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Constitution

promulgated 14 August 1991

Currency

1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Death rate

14.74 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

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

Economic aid

recipient: 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

capacity: 226,000 kW production: 990 million kWh consumption per capita: 220 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion natural hazards: subject to floods, drought, and blight international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

Lao 50%, Phoutheung (Kha) 15%, tribal Thai 20%, Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other 15%

Exchange rates

new kips (NK) per US$1 - 720 (July 1993). 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: President NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN (since 25 November 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15 August 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president, approved by the Assembly

Exports

$133 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin partners: Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, FSU, US, China

External debt

$1.1 billion (1990 est.)

FAX

(202) 332-4923

[851] 4675

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Flag

three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band

Highways

total: 27,527 km paved: bituminous 1,856 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 7,451 km; unimproved earth 18,220 km (often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September)

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, third-largest opium producer (180 metric tons in 1993)

Imports

$266 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures partners: Thailand, FSU, Japan, France, Vietnam, China

Independence

19 July 1949 (from France)

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

Infant mortality rate

101.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.8% (1992 est.)

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

International disputes

boundary dispute with Thailand

Irrigated land

1,200 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court

Labor force

1-1.5 million by occupation: agriculture 85-90% (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%

Languages

Lao (official), French, English

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 51.68 years male: 50.16 years female: 53.28 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15-45 can read and write (1993) total population: 64% male: NA% female: NA%

Location

Southeastern Asia, between Vietnam and Thailand

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,015,357; fit for military service 547,566; reach military age (18) annually 49,348 (1994 est.)

Map references

Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Member of

ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Merchant marine

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT

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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $4.1 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$900 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

7% (1992 est.)

Nationality

noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian

Natural resources

timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

landlocked

Other political or pressure groups

non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders fled the country in 1975

Overview

Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of major productive enterprises. Since 1986, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure; 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.

Pipelines

petroleum products 136 km

Political parties and leaders

Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; includes Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC); other parties moribund

Population

4,701,654 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.85% (1994 est.)

Ports

none

Railroads

none

Religions

Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15%

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Third National Assembly

elections 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

Total fertility rate

6.07 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

Communist state

Unemployment rate

21% (1989 est.)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Victor TOMSETH embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane, or American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [851] 2220, 2357, or 3570, 16-9581