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 Disputes: boundary dispute with Thailand 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 Note: landlocked PEOPLE Population: 4,113,223 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991) Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 124 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 52 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 5.0 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian Ethnic divisions: Lao 50%, Phoutheung (Kha) 15%, tribal Thai 20%, Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other 15% Religion: Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15% Language: Lao (official), French, and English Literacy: 84% (male 92%, female 76%) age 15 to 45 can read and write (1985 est.) 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, Bolikhamsai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Sekong, 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) Executive branch: president, chairman and four vice chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: Supreme People's Assembly Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State--President KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 15 August 1991); Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers General 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 Suffrage: universal at age 18 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 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: 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 the IMF and other international sources; foreign aid from the USSR and Eastern Europe is being cut sharply. GDP: $600 million, per capita $150; real growth rate 5% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22% (1990 est.) Unemployment rate: 21% (1989 est.) Budget: revenues $83 million; expenditures $188.5 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990 est.) Exports: $72 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--electricity, wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US Imports: $238 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam External debt: $1.1 billion (1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1989 est.); accounts for about 20% of GDP Electricity: 176,000 kW capacity; 1,100 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: tin 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 non-drought 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 and opium poppy for the international drug trade Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $546 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--695 (April 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989), 385 (1988), 200 (1987), 108 (1986), 95 (1985) 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: 65 total, 51 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 13 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 earth station DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA; including naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department Manpower availability: males 15-49, 991,864; 531,084 fit for military service; 45,548 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA Defense expenditures: $NA, 3.8% of GDP (1987)