Airports [time series]

64 total, 50 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m

Pipelines [time series]

136 km, refined products

Ports [time series]

none

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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 earth station

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

3.8% of GDP (1987)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 967,047; 517,666 fit for military service; 44,176 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 60% of GDP and employs most of the work force; subsistence farming predominates; normally self-sufficient; principal crops--rice (80% of cultivated land), potatoes, vegetables, coffee, sugarcane, cotton

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $468 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $895 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $71 million; expenditures $198 million, including capital expenditures of $132 million (1988 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

176,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 225 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

new kips (NK) per US$1--700 (December 1989), 725 (1989), 350 (1988), 200 (1987), 108 (1986), 95 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$57.5 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities-- electricity, wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$964 million (1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July-30 June

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$585 million, per capita $150; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producer of cannabis and opium poppy for the international drug trade; production of cannabis increased in 1989; marijuana and heroin are shipped to Western countries, including the US

Imports [time series]

$219 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 8% (1989 est.)

Industries [time series]

tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

35% (1989 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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. Recently, 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 CEMA, IMF, and other international sources.

Unemployment rate [time series]

15% (1989 est.)

Climate [time series]

tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Utah

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

boundary dispute with Thailand

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods

Land boundaries [time series]

5,083 km total; Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

Land use [time series]

4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 58% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 1% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Note [time series]

landlocked

Terrain [time series]

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Area (Total area) [time series]

236,800 km2; land area: 230,800 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Vientiane

Constitution [time series]

draft constitution under discussion since 1976

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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 Charles B. SALMON; Embassy at Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or Box V, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 2220, 2357, 2384

Executive branch [time series]

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

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

19 July 1949 (from France)

Judicial branch [time series]

Central Supreme Court Chief of State--Acting President PHOUMI VONGVICHIT (since 29 October 1986); Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers General KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 2 December 1975)

Legal system [time series]

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

Supreme People's Assembly

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Lao People's Democratic Republic

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

National Day (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic), 2 December (1975)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

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

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

Communist state

Birth rate [time series]

37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

50% Lao, 15% Phoutheung (Kha), 20% tribal Thai, 15% Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other

Infant mortality rate [time series]

126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

1-1.5 million; 85-90% in agriculture (est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Lao (official), French, and English

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

48 years male, 51 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

85%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

Lao Federation of Trade Unions is subordinate to the Communist party

Population [time series]

4,023,726 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.1 children born/woman (1990)