Country: 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: 4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 58% forest and woodland; 35% other; includes 1% irrigated Environment: deforestation; soil erosion; subject to floods Note: landlocked - People Population: 4,023,726 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990) Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990) Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990) Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990) Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 51 years female (1990) Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1990) Nationality: noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian Ethnic divisions: 50% Lao, 15% Phoutheung (Kha), 20% tribal Thai, 15% Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other Language: Lao (official), French, and English Literacy: 85% 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 five vice chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: Supreme People's Assembly Judicial branch: Central Supreme Court Leaders: 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) 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: 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 Diplomatic representation: 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 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 CEMA, IMF, and other international sources. GDP: $585 million, per capita $150; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1989 est.) Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.) Budget: revenues $71 million; expenditures $198 million, including capital expenditures of $132 million (1988 est.) Exports: $57.5 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities-- electricity, wood products, coffee, tin; partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US Imports: $219 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures; partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam External debt: $964 million (1989 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1989 est.) Electricity: 176,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 225 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing Agriculture: 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 Illicit drugs: 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 Aid: 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 Currency: new kip (plural--kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1--700 (December 1989), 725 (1989), 350 (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: 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 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, which consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department Military manpower: males 15-49, 967,047; 517,666 fit for military service; 44,176 reach military age (18) annually; conscription age NA Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (1987)