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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Laos (2008)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z Laos (2008)
| Lesotho (2001) | Laos (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 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 |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 42 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Utah |
| Background | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. | Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred 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 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $470.4 million
expenditures: $643.5 million (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | name: Vientiane
geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $3.179 billion (2006) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO
embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
| Disputes - international | none | Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $379 million (2006 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. | The government of Laos, one of the few remaining one-party Communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 6% per year in 1988-2007 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a underdeveloped infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with support from Japan and China. Electricity is available in urban areas and in most rural districts. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about 40% of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from international donors and from foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, should help streamline the government's inefficient tax system. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 1.193 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 728 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
326 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 1.715 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti | kips per US dollar - 9,658 (2007), 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97% |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Thailand 42.1%, Vietnam 9.5%, China 4% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 41.2%
industry: 32.5% services: 26.3% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28.5% (2002) |
| Illicit drugs | - | estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 2,898 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.6% (2006) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 12% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | copper, tin, gold, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 5% (2007 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,750 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 2.1 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 5,083 km
border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.01%
permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| Legal system | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote from a list of candidates selected by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 55.89 years
male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
| Military - note | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. | Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005) |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF): Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force (2008) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.5% (2006) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | floods, droughts |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | refined products 540 km (2007) |
| Political parties and leaders | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | political parties and groups other than LPRP are proscribed |
| Population | 2,177,062
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
6,521,998 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 30.7% (2005 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.37% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006) |
| Radios | 104,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
- |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 90,067 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 638,200 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007) |
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