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National Map
Of |
Laos |
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National Flag
Of |
Laos |
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Flag Description:
three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width),
and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
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National Emblem(Coat Of Arms)
Of |
Laos |
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National Anthem
Of |
Laos |
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Categories National Symbol Of |
Laos |
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Background:
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Laos was
under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th
century until the late 19th century when it became part
of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907
defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975,
the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government,
ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties
to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a
gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization
of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN
in 1997. |
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of
Vietnam |
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Geographic coordinates:
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18 00 N,
105 00 E |
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Map references:
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Southeast
Asia |
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Area:
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total:
236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
larger than Utah |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
5,083 km
border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km,
China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km
(landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none
(landlocked) |
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Climate:
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tropical
monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season
(December to April) |
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Terrain:
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mostly
rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
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Natural resources:
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timber,
hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35%
other: 95.85% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,640 sq
km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry
season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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floods,
droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most
of the population does not have access to potable water
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Environment - international agreements:
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party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and
thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of
the western boundary with Thailand |
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Population:
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6,217,141
(July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 41.6% (male 1,300,094/female 1,289,227)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 1,693,494/female
1,737,196)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 88,744/female
108,386) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
18.74 years
male: 18.42 years
female: 19.08 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.42%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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35.99
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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11.83
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at
birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.04 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 75.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 55.08 years
male: 53.07 years
female: 57.17 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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4.77
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1%
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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1,700
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than
200 (2003 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Lao Loum
(lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung
(highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic
Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
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Religions:
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Buddhist
60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian
denominations 1.5%) |
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Languages:
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Lao
(official), French, English, and various ethnic
languages |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.4%
male: 77.4%
female: 55.5% (2002) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic
Republic
conventional short form: Laos
local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai
Paxaxon Lao
local short form: none |
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Government type:
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Communist
state |
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Capital:
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Vientiane
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Administrative divisions:
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16
provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1
municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural),
and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural);
Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan,
Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai,
Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*,
Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong,
Xiangkhoang |
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Independence:
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19 July
1949 (from France) |
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National holiday:
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Republic
Day, 2 December (1975) |
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Constitution:
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promulgated 14 August 1991 |
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Legal system:
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based on
traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures,
and socialist practice |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26
February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI
Saignason (since 27 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG
Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime
Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003)
Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May
2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27
March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT
Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president, approved by the National Assembly
elections: president elected by the National
Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24
February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister
appointed by the president with the approval of the
National Assembly for a five-year term
election results: KHAMTAI Siphadon elected
president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected
by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total
number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002
election)
elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be
held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent,
non-party members) 109 |
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Judicial branch:
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People's
Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme
Court is elected by the National Assembly on the
recommendation of the National Assembly Standing
Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme
Court and the judges are appointed by the National
Assembly Standing Committee) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Lao
People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon,
party president]; other parties proscribed |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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noncommunist political groups proscribed; most
opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT,
APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU,
MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416
FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH
embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane
mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP
96546
telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585
FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
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Flag description:
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three
horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and
red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
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Economy - overview:
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The
government of Laos - one of the few remaining official
Communist states - began decentralizing control and
encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results,
starting from an extremely low base, were striking -
growth averaged 6% in 1988-2004 except during the
short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis
beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos
remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it
has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited
external and internal telecommunications. The government
has sponsored major improvements in the road system.
Electricity is available in only a few urban areas.
Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and
provides 80% of total employment. The economy will
continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other
international sources and from new foreign investment in
food processing and mining. In late 2004, Laos gained
Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing
Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on their
exports; this may help spur growth. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$11.28
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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6% (2004
est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 49.5%
industry: 27.5%
services: 23% (2004 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.6
million (2001 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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5.7%
(1997 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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40% (2002
est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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37 (1997)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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12.3%
(2004 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $284.3 million
expenditures: $416.5 million, including capital
expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sweet
potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco,
cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle,
poultry |
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Industries:
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tin and
gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural
processing, construction, garments, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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9.7%
(2001 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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3.56
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 1.4%
hydro: 98.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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3.036
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
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400
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
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125
million kWh (2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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2,750
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Current account balance:
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$-80.76
million (2004 est.) |
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Exports:
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$365.5
million (2004 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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garments,
wood products, coffee, electricity, tin |
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Exports - partners:
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Thailand
19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5%
(2004) |
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Imports:
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$579.5
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery
and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
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Imports - partners:
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Thailand
60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$193.1
million (2004 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$2.49
billion (2001) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$243
million (2001 est.) |
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Currency (code):
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kip (LAK)
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Currency code:
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LAK |
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Exchange rates:
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kips per
US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3
(2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 October
- 30 September |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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61,900
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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55,200
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: service to general public is
poor but improving with over 20,000 telephones currently
in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001;
the government relies on a radiotelephone network to
communicate with remote areas
domestic: radiotelephone communications
international: country code - 856; satellite
earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 12, FM
1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
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Radios:
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730,000
(1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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4 (1999)
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Televisions:
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52,000
(1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.la |
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Internet hosts:
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937
(2003) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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1 (2000)
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Internet users:
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15,000
(2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km
unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
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Waterways:
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4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897
additional km are intermittently navigable by craft
drawing less than 0.5 m (2003) |
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Pipelines:
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refined
products 540 km (2004) |
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Merchant marine:
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total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
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Airports:
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44 (2004
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Lao
People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
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Military service age and obligation:
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15 years
of age for compulsory military service; conscript
service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males
age 15-49: 1,500,625 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males
age 15-49: 954,816 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower reaching military service age annually:
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males:
73,167 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$10.7
million (2004) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.5%
(2004) |
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Military - note:
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Laos is
one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao
People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and
ineffectively resourced; there is little political will
to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the
armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue;
the massive drug production and trafficking industry
centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important
narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese
smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005) |
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Disputes - international:
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Southeast
Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check
the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to
complete demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while
ongoing disputes over squatters and boundary
encroachment by Thailand including Mekong River islets
persist; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission
agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining
provinces; concern among Mekong Commission members that
China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will
affect water levels |
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Illicit drugs:
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estimated
cultivation in 2004 - 10,000 hectares, a 45% decrease
from 2003; estimated potential production in 2004 - 49
metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons
in 2003 (2005) |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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