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$Unique_ID{COW02129}
$Pretitle{258}
$Title{Laos
Statistical Profile of Laos}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{km
lao
million
rate
people's
july
national
total
december
elections}
$Date{1990}
$Log{National Anthem*63400010.aud
Map of Laos*0212901.scf
Flag of Laos*0212902.scf
}
Country: Laos
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[Hear National Anthem]
[See Map of Laos]
[See Flag of Laos]
Statistical Profile of Laos
Geography
Total area: 236,800 km2; land area: 230,800 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Utah
Land boundaries: 5,083 km total; Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China
423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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: 4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and
pastures; 58% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods
Note: landlocked
People
Population: 3,935,786 (July 1989), growth rate 2.2% (1989)
Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 128 deaths/1,000 live births (July 1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (July 1989)
Total fertility rate: 5.2 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian
Ethnic divisions: 50% Lao, 15% Phoutheung (Kha), 20% tribal Thai, 15% Meo,
Hmong, Yao, and other
Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other
Language: Lao (official), French, and English
Literacy: 85%
Labor force: 1-1.5 million; 85-90% in agriculture (est.)
Organized labor: Lao Federation of Trade Unions is subordinate to the
Communist party
Government
Long-form name: Lao People's Democratic Republic
Type: Communist state
Capital: Vientiane
Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural)
and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo,
Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang,
Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Xekong, Vientiane,
Vientiane*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang
Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)
Constitution: draft constitution under discussion since 1976
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the Lao People's
Democratic Republic), 2 December (1975)
Branches: president; Supreme People's Assembly; Cabinet; Cabinet
is totally Communist but Council contains a few nominal neutralists and
non-Communists; National Congress of People's Representatives established the
current government structure in December 1975
Leaders:
Chief of State Acting President PHOUMI VONGVICHIT (since 29 October
1986);
Head of Government Chairman of the Council of Ministers General KAYSONE
PHOMVIHAN (designated Prime Minister on 2 December 1975 and title changed to
Chairman in July 1982)
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: first elections under the Laos People's Democratic
Republic held 1988--district elections held in June 1988 and provincial
elections in November 1988; national elections scheduled for March 1989
Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party
(Communist), Kaysone Phomvihan, party chairman; includes Lao Patriotic Front and
Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; other parties moribund
Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups
moribund; most leaders have fled the country
Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: First Secretary, Charge d'Affaires ad interim
DONE SOMVORACHIT; Chancery at 2222 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-6416 or 6417;
US--Charge d'Affaires Harriet W. ISOM; Embassy at Rue Bartholonie,
Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or Box V, APO San Francisco
96346); telephone 2220, 2357, 2384
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 is one of the world's poorest nations with an estimated per
capita GDP of only $140 in 1987. It is a landlocked country with a primitive
infrastructure, having no railroads, a rudimentary road system, limited
external and internal telecommunications, and electricity available to
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 upon foreign aid for its survival.
GDP: $551 million, per capita $140; real growth rate 2.2% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 17% (1987)
Budget: revenues $111 million; expenditures $156 million, including
capital expenditures of $67.4 million (1987)
Exports: $48.7 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--electricity,
wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam,
USSR, US
Imports: $218.8 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--food, fuel oil,
consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France,
Vietnam
External debt: $884 million (December 1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 11%, manufacturing (1987)
Electricity: 175,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced,
230 kWh per capita (1988)
Industries: tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural
processing
Agriculture: rice (overwhelmingly dominant), corn, vegetables,
tobacco, coffee, cotton; formerly self-sufficient; food shortages (due in part
to distribution deficiencies) include rice; an illegal producer of opium poppy
and cannabis for the international drug trade
Aid: US commitments (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries
ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-85), $423 million
Currency: new kip (plural--kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at
Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US $1--400 (official fixed rate since
July 1988)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Highways: about 27,527 km total; 1,856 km bituminous or bituminous
treated; 7,451 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 18,220 km unimproved
earth and 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: 136 km, refined products
Ports: none
Airports: 64 total, 50 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with
runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: service to general public considered poor; radio
network provides generally erratic service to government users; 7,390 telephones
(1986); stations--10 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite ground station
Defense Forces
Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval,
aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department
Military manpower: males 15-49, 943,498; 504,949 fit for military service;
42,891 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA
Military budget: NA