1995 Edition

Area

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

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water natural hazards: floods, droughts, and blight international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

International disputes

boundary dispute with Thailand

Irrigated land

1,554 sq km (1992 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

Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand

Map references

Southeast Asia

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Note

landlocked

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (female 1,084,615; male 1,111,928) 15-64 years: 51% (female 1,280,142; male 1,199,149) 65 years and over: 4% (female 86,390; male 75,013) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

42.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

14.28 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%

Infant mortality rate

99.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

1 million-1.5 million by occupation: agriculture 80% (1992 est.)

Languages

Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 52.2 years male: 50.66 years female: 53.81 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 50% male: 65% female: 35%

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

4,837,237 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

2.84% (1995 est.)

Religions

Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40%

Total fertility rate

5.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Administrative divisions

16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang

Capital

Vientiane

Constitution

promulgated 14 August 1991

Digraph

LA

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416, 6417

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

FAX

[1] (202) 332-4923

[856] (21) 212584

Flag

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

Independence

19 July 1949 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court

Legal system

based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, 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 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

National holiday

National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic)

Other political or pressure groups

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

Political parties and leaders

Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; other parties proscribed

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

Communist state

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Victor L. TOMSETH embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane; American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585

Agriculture

principal crops - rice (80% of cultivated land), sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, cotton; livestock - buffaloes, hogs, cattle, poultry

Budget

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA

Currency

1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

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; international assistance in loans and grant aid (1993/94) $217.7 million

Electricity

capacity: 260,000 kW production: 870 million kWh consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

new kips (NK) per US$1 - 717 (1994 est.), 720 (July 1993). 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989)

Exports

$277 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin, garments partners: Thailand 57%, Germany 10%, France 10%, Japan 5% (1991)

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 October - 30 September

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, fourth largest opium producer (85 metric tons in 1994); heroin producer; increasingly used as transshipment point for heroin produced in Burma

Imports

$528 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures partners: Thailand 55%, Japan 16%, China 8%, Italy 4% (1991)

Industrial production

growth rate 7.5% (1992 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP (1992 est.)

Industries

tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.5% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $4 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$850 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

8.4% (1994 est.)

Overview

The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise since 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, have been striking - growth has averaged 7.5% annually since 1988. Even so, Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. In non-drought years, Laos is self-sufficient overall in food, but each year flood, pests, and localized drought cause shortages in various parts of the country. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. As in many developing countries, deforestation and soil erosion will hamper efforts to maintain the high rate of GDP growth.

Unemployment rate

21% (1992 est.)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

7,390 telephones (1986); service to general public very poor; radio communications network provides generally erratic service to government users local: 16 telephone lines per 1,000 people intercity: radio communications international: 1 earth station

Television

broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 52 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 25 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17

Highways

total: 14,130 km paved: 2,260 km unpaved: 11,870 km (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

Merchant marine

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

Pipelines

petroleum products 136 km

Ports

none

Railroads

0 km

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $105 million, 8.1% of GDP (FY92/93) ________________________________________________________________________ LATVIA

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,051,105; males fit for military service 567,017; males reach military age (18) annually 51,437 (1995 est.)