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Background:
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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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Map references:
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Southeast
Asia |
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Area:
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total:
236,800 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
land: 230,800 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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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:
3.47%
permanent crops: 0.23%
other: 96.3% (1998 est.) |
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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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6,068,117 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
18.6 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 19 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.44% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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36.47
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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12.1 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 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: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
87.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 76.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 97.05 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 54.69 years
male: 52.71 years
female: 56.75 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1%
(2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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1,400 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 150
(2001 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: 52.8%
male: 67.5%
female: 38.1% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos
local short form: none
local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao |
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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, Louangphabang, Oudomxai,
Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, 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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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (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 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 Siphandon 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 Siphandon, 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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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Douglas A. HARTWICK
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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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 7% in 1988-2001
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. 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. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $10.34 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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5.7% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
53%
industry: 23%
services: 24% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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40% (2002 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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7.8% (2001 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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Budget:
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revenues:
$211 million
expenditures: $462 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
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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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1.317 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
1.4%
hydro: 98.6%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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824.8 million kWh
(2001) |
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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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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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Exports:
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$332 million
(2003 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 21.5%,
Vietnam 16.9%, France 8.6%, Germany 5.6% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$492 million
f.o.b. (2003 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 60.7%,
Vietnam 10.5%, China 8.2%, Singapore 4% (2002) |
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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:
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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 - 10,443 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001),
7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999) |
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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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Television broadcast stations:
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4 (1999) |
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Internet country code:
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.la |
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Internet hosts:
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281 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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15,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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0 km |
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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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4,587 km
approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897
additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing
less than 0.5 m |
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Pipelines:
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refined products
540 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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none |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 1
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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46 (2003 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 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 23 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Lao People's Army
(LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
68,563 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$10.9 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.5% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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demarcation of
boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is largely
complete, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong
River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand
and Vietnam over squatters |
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Illicit drugs:
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world's
third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in
2002 - 23,200 hectares, a 5% increase over 2001; estimated
potential production in 2002 - 180 metric tons, a 10% decrease
from 2001); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for
heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer
of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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