15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419) 65 years and over:
3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.47% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 55.87 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1,400 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 130 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Ethnic groups: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao
Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%,
ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various
Christian denominations 1.5%)
Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.)
Government Laos
Country name: conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local short form: none local long form:
Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
Government type: Communist state
Capital: Vientiane
Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural),
1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special
zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai,
Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai,
Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli,
Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang
Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)
National holiday: Republic Day, 2 December (1975)
Constitution: promulgated 14 August 1991
Legal system: based on traditional customs, French legal norms and
procedures, and Socialist practice
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since
26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since
27 March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit
(since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli
(since NA May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since
27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26
February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president,
approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the
National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 February
2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president
with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election
results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly
vote - NA%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number
of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election) elections:
last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved
(independent, non-party members) 109
Judicial branch: 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)
Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP
[KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders: noncommunist political groups
proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
International organization participation: ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
VANG Rattanavong FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Douglas A. HARTWICK embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane
mailing address: American Embassy,
[856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX:
Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double
width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
Economy Laos
Economy - overview: The government of Laos - one of the few remaining
official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging
private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely
low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 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
primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system,
and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is
available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts
for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will
continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources
and from new foreign investment in food-processing and mining.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 53% industry: 22% services:
25% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 40% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.7% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $211 million expenditures: $462 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)
Industries: tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural
processing, construction, garments, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 1.02 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 1.96% hydro: 98.04%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 690.6 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 400 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 142 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee,
sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs,
cattle, poultry
Exports: $325 million (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin
Exports - partners: Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%,
Belgium 4% (2000)
Imports: $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel
Imports - partners: Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong
1.5%, China 0.8% (2000)
Debt - external: $2.53 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient: $345 million (1999 est.)
Currency: kip (LAK)
Currency code: LAK
Exchange rates: kips per US dollar - 9,467.00 (December 2001), 8,954.58
(2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
Communications Laos
Telephones - main lines in use: 25,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,915 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: service to general public is
poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service
and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on
a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic:
radiotelephone communications international: satellite earth station -
1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 730,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (1999)
Televisions: 52,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .la
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 6,000 (2001)
Transportation Laos
Railways: 0 km (2001)
Highways: total: 14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991)
Waterways: 4,587 km approximately note: primarily Mekong and tributaries;
2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less
than 0.5 m
Pipelines: petroleum products 136 km
Ports and harbors: none
Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370
GRT/3,110 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 51 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to
2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 26 (2001)
Military Laos
Military branches: Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force),
Air Force, National Police Department
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,365,027 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 734,945
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 64,437
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $55 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.2% (FY96/97)
Transnational Issues Laos
Disputes - international: demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia,
Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion, but with Thailand, several
areas including Mekong River islets, remain in dispute; ongoing disputes
with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters
Illicit drugs: world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated
cultivation in 2001 - 22,000 hectares, a 5% decrease over 2000; estimated
potential production in 2001 - 200 metric tons, about the same as in
2000); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and
methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing
methamphetamine abuse problem
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Lebanon
Introduction
Lebanon
Background: Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil
war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation
- the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system,
particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process
while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the
end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections,
most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about
two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains
its weapons. Syria maintains about 20,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly
in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment
was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in
the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence
in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese
Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if
Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon
in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and
Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.
Geography Lebanon
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel
and Syria
Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 10,400 sq km water: 170 sq km land: 10,230 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria
375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point:
Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in
a water-deficit region, arable land
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 12% other: 70% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion;
desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the
burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage
and oil spills
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not
crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped
isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion,
clan, and ethnicity
People Lebanon
Population: 3,677,780 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.3% (male 511,902; female 491,804) 15-64
years: 65.9% (male 1,157,688; female 1,267,106) 65 years and over: 6.8%
(male 113,341; female 135,939) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.36% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 19.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 27.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.32 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.02 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.09% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic groups: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions: Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite,
Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian,
Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.)
Government Lebanon
Country name: conventional long form: Lebanese Republic conventional
short form: Lebanon local short form: Lubnan local long form: Al
Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
Government type: republic
Capital: Beirut
Administrative divisions: 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular -
mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye
Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under
French administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently
Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989
Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code,
and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for
women at age 21 with elementary education
Executive branch: chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since
24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI
(since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23
October 2000) cabinet: and members of the National Assembly elections:
president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election
last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and
deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with
the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian,
the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature
is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president;
National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab
(Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by
popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to
serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000
(next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party -
Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than
1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64
(of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of
which Maronite 34)
Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and
commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council
(called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme
Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)
Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized
along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist,
consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by
religious, clan, and economic considerations
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
consulate(s) general: [1] (202) 939-6320 chancery: 2560 28th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Vincent Martin BATTLE (since 11 Sep. 2001) embassy: Awkar, Lebanon
mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO
AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136
Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double
width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the
white band
Economy Lebanon
Economy - overview: The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's
economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but
ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking
hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut,
begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government
facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking
system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family
remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and
international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange.
Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of
"Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real
GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997 but slowed to 2%
in 1998, -1% in 1999, and -0.5% in 2000. Growth recovered slightly in
2001 to 1%. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more
than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial
infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in
the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily
- mostly from domestic banks. The re-installed HARIRI government has
failed to rein in the ballooning national debt. Without large-scale
international aid and rapid privatization of state-owned enterprises,
markets may force a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12% industry: 21% services:
67% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 28% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.5 million (2001 est.) note: in addition, there are as
many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA%
Unemployment rate: 18% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $4.6 billion expenditures: $8.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles;
mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining;
metal fabricating
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 7.95 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 96.86% hydro: 3.14%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 8.643 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 1.25 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables,
potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats
Exports: $700 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals,
precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and
products, jewelry, paper and paper products
Exports - partners: Saudi Arabia 11%, UAE 11%, Switzerland 7%, US 7%,
France 5%, Iraq 4%, Jordan 4%, Kuwait 4%, Syria 4% (2000)
Imports: $6.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment,
consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods
Imports - partners: Italy 11%, France 8%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland
6%, China 5%, Syria 5%, UK 4% (2000)
Debt - external: $8.4 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001)
Currency: Lebanese pound (LBP)
Currency code: LBP
Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2002),
1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5
(1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Lebanon
Telephones - main lines in use: 700,000 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 580,000 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: telecommunications system severely
damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway domestic: primarily
microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations -
2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations);
coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable
beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 2.85 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 1.18 million (1997)
Internet country code: .lb
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 22 (2000)
Internet users: 300,000 (2001)
Transportation Lebanon