Laos

Communist stateIndependence 19 July 1949 (from France)

Laos as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalVientiane

Area236,800 km2

Populationas each edition published it

4.44 million July 1992 · 4.02m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.86% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 51.18 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

6.3 children per woman 1992 · 5.1 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

107 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 126 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $200 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 4% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

236,800km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Land boundaries

5,083km

Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

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 NEGL%;
meadows and pastures 3%;
forest and woodland 58%;
other 35%;
includes irrigated 1%

Environment

deforestation;
soil erosion;
subject to floods

People

14 fields

Population

4,440,213

(July 1992), growth rate 2.9% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

44Death

16Net migration

Literacy

84%

(male 92%, female 76%) age 15 to 45 can read and write (1985 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%

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

Communist state

19 fields

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, Sekong, Vientiane, Vientiane*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang

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)

Executive branch

president, chairman and two vice chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Leaders

Chief of State:: President KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 15 August 1991)
Head of Government:: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15 August 1991)

Political parties and leaders

Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN, party chairman;
includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces;
other parties moribund

Elections

Supreme People's Assembly:: last held on 26 March 1989 (next to be held NA);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (79 total) number of seats by party NA

Other political or pressure groups

non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders have fled the country

Member of

ACCT (associate), AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Charge d'Affaires LINTHONG PHETSAVAN;
Chancery at 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-6416 or 6417

US:: Charge d'Affaires Charles B. SALMON, Jr.;
Embassy at Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or AMEMB, Box V, APO AP 96546);
telephone (856) 2220, 2357, 2384;
FAX (856) 4675

Flag

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

Economy

One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist centrally | planned economy with government ownership and control of productive | enterprises of any size.

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

10.4%

(December 1991)

Unemployment rate

21%

(1989 est.)

External debt

$1.1billion

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$83 millionExpenditures

$188.5 million

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990 est.)

One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of productive enterprises of any size. In recent years, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure;

that is, 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.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $800 million, per capita $200; real growth rate 4% (1991)

Exports

$72 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)

commodities:: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin
partners:: Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US, China

Imports

$238 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)

commodities:: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures
partners:: Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam, China

Industrial production

growth rate 12% (1991 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1991 est.)

Electricity

226,000 kW capacity; 1,100 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1991)

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, chicken

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, third-largest opium producer

Economic aid

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

new kip (plural - kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Exchange rates

new kips (NK) per US$1 - 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989), 385 (1988), 200 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Communications

7 fields

Airports, 57 total, 47 usable

permanent-surface runways

8runways | over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

1runways 1,220-2,439 m

Railroads

none

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

petroleum products 136 km

Ports

none

Telecommunications

service to general public considered poor;
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