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Laos

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Background :

Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1988. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997. 

Location :

Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

18 00 N, 105 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 100.09
North 22.50
East 107.70
South 13.91

Area :

total 236 800 square km
land 230 800 square km
water 6 000 square km

Land boundaries :

total 5 083 km
Burma 235 km
Cambodia (kh) 541 km
China (cn) 423 km
Thailand (th) 1 754 km
Vietnam (vn) 2 130 km

Coastline :

0.00 km

Climate :

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

Terrain :

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 70 metres
highest point 2 817 metres

Natural resources :

gemstones gold
gypsum hydropower
timber tin

Land use :

arable land 4.01 %
permanent crops 0.34 %
other 95.65 %

Irrigated land :

1 750 square km

Natural hazards :

droughts floods

current issues :

unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection

Population :

6 834 345 

Indicators :

Growth rate 2.32 %
Birth rate 33.96 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 4.41 children born/woman
Death rate 10.76 deaths/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 40.80 %
15-64 years 56.20 %
65 years and over 3.10 %

Median age :

total 19.30 years
male 19.00 years
female 19.60 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.76 male(s)/female
total population 0.98 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 77.76 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 56.57 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 54.45 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 58.79 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.20 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 5 500
HIV-AIDS deaths 100

Religions :

Buddhist 67.00 %
Christian 1.50 %
other 31.50 %

Languages :

Lao  
French  
English  

Literacy :

total population 68.70 %
male 77.00 %
female 60.90 %

Country name :

conventional long form Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form Laos
local long form Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
local short form Pathet Lao

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 LA
ISO Numeric 418
ISO3 LAO
FIPS LA
ccTLD la
English Laos

Administrative divisions :

16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 capital city* (nakhon luang, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang 

Capital :

name Vientiane
geographic coordinates 17 58 N, 102 36 E
time difference 7.00

International organization participation :

ADB APT
ARF ASEAN
CP EAS
FAO G-77
IBRD ICAO
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IOC
IPU ISO (subscriber)
ITU Interpol
MIGA NAM
OIF OPCW
PCA UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNIDO UNWTO
UPU WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO (observer)

Independence :

1949-07-19 

National holiday :

Republic Day

1975-12-02

Executive branch :

President CHOUMMALI Saignason Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 14 610 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 5 721 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 3.00 %
PPP - per capita 2 100 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 39.20 %
industry 33.90 %
services 26.90 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 80.00 %
services 20.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 2 100 000 people
Unemployment rate 2.40 %
Population below poverty line 26.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 34.60
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.60 %
Current account balance - 23 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 715 000 000 $
Debt external 3 179 000 000 $
Military expenditures 0.50 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 3.40 %
highest 10% 28.50 %

Budget :

revenues 937 100 000 $
expenditures 1 123 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

cattle coffee
corn cotton
peanuts pigs
poultry rice
sugarcane sweet potatoes
tea tobacco
vegetables water buffalo

Industries :

agricultural processing cement
construction copper
electric power garments
gold gypsum mining
timber tin
tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 3 075 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 3 068 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 268 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 475 900 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 3 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 3 080 bbl/day

Value :

1 104 000 000 $

Commodities :

coffee copper
electricity gold
tin wood products

Value :

1 308 000 000 $

Commodities :

consumer products fuels
machinery and equipment vehicles

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 97 600
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 1 822 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 14
Television broadcast stations 7
Internet Country code (ccTLD) la
Internet Hosts 1 661
Internet Users 130 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 9
Pipelines - refined products 540 km
Roadways - total 29 811 km
Roadways - paved 4 010 km
Roadways - unpaved 25 801 km
Waterways 4 600 km

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