1986 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1986 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Agriculture
main crops — rice (overwhelmingly dominant), corn, vegetables, tobacco, coffee, cotton; formerly self-sufficient; food shortages (due in part to distribution deficiencies) include rice; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade
Aid
economic commitments — Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF (1970-83), $386 million; US(FY70-79), $276 million; military — US assistance $1.1 billion (1970-75)
Area
236,804 km2; slightly larger than Utah; 60% forest; 8% agricultural; 32% urban, waste, or other; except in limited areas, soil is poor; most of forested area is not exploitable
Branches
President; 37-member Supreme People's Council; Cabinet; Cabinet is totally Communist but Council contains a few nominal neutralists and non-Communists; National Congress of People's Representatives established the current government structure in December 1975
Budget
(1979 est.) receipts, $100 million; expenditures, $191 million; deficit, $91 million
Capital
Vientiane
Elections
elections for National Assembly, originally scheduled for 1 April 1976, have not yet been held Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (Communist), Kaysone Phomvihan, party chairman; includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces; other parties moribund
Electric power
175,100 kW capacity (1985); 905 million kWh produced (1985), 250 kWh per capita
Ethnic divisions
48% Lao; 25% Phoutheung (Kha); 14% Tribal Tai; 13% Meo, Yao, and other
Exports
$36 million (f.o.b., 1984 est.); electric power, forest products, tin concentrates; coffee, undeclared exports of opium and tobacco
Fiscal year
1 July-30June
GNP
$765 million, $220 per capita (1984 est.)
Government leaders
SOUPHANOUVONG, President (since December 1975); KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN, Chairman (since December 1975)
Imports
$98 million (c.i.f., 1984 est.); rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment
Infant mortality rate
159/1,000(1983)
Labor force
about 1-1.5 million; 80-90% agriculture
Land boundaries
5,053 km People
Language
Lao (official), French, and English
Legal system
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Life expectancy
men 42, women 45
Literacy
85%
Major industries
tin mining, timber, green coffee, electric power
Major trade partners
imports — Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, China, Vietnam; exports— Thailand, Malaysia
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 Economy
Monetary conversion rate
official — 10 kips= US$1; commercial — 35 kips=US$l; inward remittances — 108 kips=US$l (December 1985)
National holiday
2 December
Nationality
noun — Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective — Lao or Laotian
Natural resources
tin, timber, gypsum, hydroelectric power
Official name
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Organized labor
only labor organization is subordinate to the Communist Party Government
Other political or pressure groups
nonCommunist political groups moribund; most leaders have fled the country
Political subdivisions
16 provinces subdivided into districts, cantons, and villages
Population
3,679,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.0%
Religion
50% Buddhist, 50% animist and other
Shortages
capital equipment, petroleum, transportation system, trained personnel
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
Communist state