Laos




                                 Geography


Location:
     Southeastern Asia, between Vietnam and Thailand
Map references:
     Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     236,800 sq km
land area:
     230,800 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Utah
Land boundaries:
     total 5,083 km, Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand
     1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     boundary dispute with Thailand
Climate:
     tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December
     to April)
Terrain:
     mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Natural resources:
     timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use:
arable land:
     4%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     3%
forest and woodland:
     58%
other:
     35%
Irrigated land:
     1,200 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note:
     landlocked




                                  People


Population:
     4,701,654 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.85% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     43.23 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     14.74 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     101.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     51.68 years
male:
     50.16 years
female:
     53.28 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.07 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective:
     Lao or Laotian
Ethnic divisions:
     Lao 50%, Phoutheung (Kha) 15%, tribal Thai 20%, Meo, Hmong, Yao, and
     other 15%
Religions:
     Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15%
Languages:
     Lao (official), French, English
Literacy:
     age 15-45 can read and write (1993)
total population:
     64%
male:
     NA%
female:
     NA%
Labor force:
     1-1.5 million
by occupation:
     agriculture 85-90% (est.)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form:






local long form:
     Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
local short form:
     none
Digraph:
     LA
Type:
     Communist state
Capital:
     Vientiane
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
Independence:
     19 July 1949 (from France)
National holiday:
     National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the Lao People's
     Democratic Republic)
Constitution:
     promulgated 14 August 1991
Legal system:
     based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
     jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme People's Court
Political parties and leaders:
     Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party
     president; includes Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC); other
     parties moribund
Other political or pressure groups:
     non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders fled the country
     in 1975
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




Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH
chancery:
     2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 332-6416 or 6417
FAX:
     (202) 332-4923
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
FAX:
     [851] 4675
Flag:
     three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with
     a large white disk centered in the blue band


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $4.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     7% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $900 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9.8% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     21% (1989 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $83 million
expenditures:
     $188.5 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990
     est.)




Exports:
     $133 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     electricity, wood products, coffee, tin
partners:
     Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, FSU, US, China
Imports:
     $266 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures
partners:
     Thailand, FSU, Japan, France, Vietnam, China
External debt:
     $1.1 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 12% (1991 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1991 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
     226,000 kW
production:
     990 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     220 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural
     processing, construction
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
Illicit drugs:
     illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug
     trade, third-largest opium producer (180 metric tons in 1993)
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
Currency:
     1 new kip (NK) = 100 at
Exchange rates:
     new kips (NK) per US$1 - 720 (July 1993). 710 (May 1992), 710
     (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     1 July - 30 June


                              Communications


Railroads:
     none
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)
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
Merchant marine:
     1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT
Airports:
total:
     53
usable:
     41
with permanent-surface runways:
     8
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     15
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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Lao People's Army (LPA; including naval, aviation, and militia
     elements), Air Force, National Police Department
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,015,357; fit for military service 547,566; reach
     military age (18) annually 49,348 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP