Part 34

_#_Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force; principal crops--rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products--cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain; fish catch estimated at 1.7 million metric tons in 1987

_#_Economic aid: Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s

_#_Currency: North Korean won (plural--won); 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon

_#_Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1--2.2 (March 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989), 2.13 (December 1988), 0.94 (March 1987), NA (1986), NA (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 4,535 km total; 3,870 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 665 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge; 159 km double track; 3,175 km electrified; government owned (1989)

_#_Highways: about 30,000 km (1989); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous

_#_Inland waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 37 km

_#_Ports: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Wonsan, Songnim, Najin, Sonbong

_#_Merchant marine: 68 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 465,801 GRT/709,442 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 58 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 bulk, 1 combination bulk

_#_Airports: 55 total, 55 usable (est.); about 30 with permanent-surface runways; fewer than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: stations--18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 radio receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Korean People's Army (includes of the Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,381,859; 3,899,606 fit for military service; 214,690 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $NA, 20-25% of GNP (1991 est.); note--the officially announced but suspect figure is $1.7 billion, 6% of GNP (1991 est.) _%_ _@_Korea, South _*_Geography _#_Total area: 98,480 km2; land area: 98,190 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

_#_Land boundary: 238 km with North Korea

_#_Coastline: 2,413 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific

Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)

_#_Disputes: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

_#_Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

_#_Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

_#_Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower

_#_Land use: arable land 21%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 67%; other 10%; includes irrigated 12%

_#_Environment: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities

_#_Notes: strategic location along the Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, and Yellow Sea

_*_People _#_Population: 43,134,386 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 73 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean

_#_Ethnic divisions: homogeneous; small Chinese minority (about 20,000)

_#_Religion: strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority (28% of the total population); Buddhism; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism); Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5 million adherents

_#_Language: Korean; English widely taught in high school

_#_Literacy: 96% (male 99%, female 94%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 16,900,000; 52% services and other; 27% mining and manufacturing; 21% agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)

_#_Organized labor: about 10% of nonagricultural labor force in government-sanctioned unions

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Seoul

_#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*

_#_Independence: 15 August 1948

_#_Constitution: 25 February 1988

_#_Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)

_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, State Council (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988);

Head of Government--Prime Minister CHUNG Won Shik (since 24 May 1991); Deputy Prime Minister CHOI Kak Kyu (since 19 February 1991)

_#_Political parties and leaders:

ruling party--Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), ROH Tae Woo, president, KIM Young Sam, chairman; note--the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990;

opposition--New Democratic Party (NDP, formerly Party for Peace and Democracy or PPD), KIM Dae Jung, president; Democratic Party (DP), YI Ki Taek; several smaller parties

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 20

_#_Elections:

President--last held on 16 December 1987 (next to be held December 1992); results--ROH Tae Woo (DJP) 35.9%, KIM Young Sam (RDP) 27.5%, KIM Dae Jung (PPD) 26.5%, other 10.1%;

National Assembly--last held on 26 April 1988 (next to be held April 1992); results--DJP 34%, RDP 24%, PPD 19%, NDRP 15%, other 8%; seats--(299 total) DJP 125, PPD 70, RDP 59, NDRP 35, other 10; note--on 9 February 1990 the DJP, RDP, and NDRP merged to form the DLP; also the PPD became the NDP; as a result the distribution of seats changed to DLP 218, NDP 70, other 11 (June 1990)

_#_Communists: Communist party activity banned by government

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Council of College Student Representatives; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean Industries; Korean Traders Association

_#_Member of: AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador HYUN Hong Joo; Chancery at 2320 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-5600; there are Korean Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle;

US--Ambassador Donald P. GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96301); telephone [82] (2) 732-2601 through 2618; there is a US Consulate in Pusan

_#_Flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field

_*_Economy _#_Overview: The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously entrepreneurial society. Real GNP--which grew by 6.7% in 1989 after an average annual growth of over 12% between 1986-88--grew about 9% in 1990. Labor unrest--which led to substantial wage hikes in 1987-88--was noticeably calmer in 1990, unemployment averaged a low 2.5%, and investment was strong. Inflation rates, however, are beginning to challenge South Korea's strong economic performance. Consumer prices rose 8.6%, the highest rate in nine years. Policymakers are concerned higher prices could lead to a resurgence of labor unrest.

_#_GNP: $238 billion, per capita $5,600; real growth rate 9% (1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (1990)

_#_Unemployment rate: 2.5% (1990)

_#_Budget: revenues $38 billion; expenditures $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)

_#_Exports: $65 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, fish;

partners--US 30%, Japan 19%

_#_Imports: $70 billion (c.i.f., 1990);

commodities--machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains;

partners--Japan 27%, US 24% (1990)

_#_External debt: $31.7 billion (1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 8.6% (1990 est.); accounts for about 45% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 21,000,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced, 1,970 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry); principal crops--rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products--cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9 billion; non-US countries (1970-89), $3.0 billion

_#_Currency: South Korean won (plural--won); 1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)

_#_Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1--718.14 (January 1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: calendar year

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 3,106 km operating in 1983; 3,059 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 712 km double track, 418 km electrified; government owned

_#_Highways: 62,936 km total (1982); 13,476 km national highway, 49,460 km provincial and local roads

_#_Inland waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft

_#_Pipelines: 455 km refined products

_#_Ports: Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan

_#_Merchant marine: 439 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,182,519 GRT/11,906,897 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 138 cargo, 45 container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 48 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 13 liquefied gas, 7 combination ore/oil, 146 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier

_#_Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 110 total, 102 usable; 60 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: adequate domestic and international services; 4,800,000 telephones; stations--79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or greater); satellite earth stations--2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 12,859,511; 8,294,624 fit for military service; 429,088 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $10.4 billion, 4.5% of GNP (1991) _%_ _@_Kuwait _*_Geography _#_Total area: 17,820 km2; land area: 17,820 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

_#_Land boundaries: 462 km total; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km

_#_Coastline: 499 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: not specific;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait from 2 August 1990 until 27 February 1991; in April 1991 official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept its internationally recognized border with Kuwait, ended earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of Kuwait; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands disputed by Saudi Arabia

_#_Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters

_#_Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain

_#_Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

_#_Land use: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 8%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 92%; includes irrigated NEGL%

_#_Environment: some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution; desertification

_#_Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

_*_People _#_Population: 2,204,400 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 2 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Kuwaiti(s); adjective--Kuwaiti

_#_Ethnic divisions: Kuwaiti 27.9%, other Arab 39%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 20.1%

_#_Religion: Muslim 85% (Shia 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%

_#_Language: Arabic (official); English widely spoken

_#_Literacy: 74% (male 78%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985)

_#_Labor force: 566,000 (1986); services 45.0%, construction 20.0%, trade 12.0%, manufacturing 8.6%, finance and real estate 2.6%, agriculture 1.9%, power and water 1.7%, mining and quarrying 1.4%; 70% of labor force was non-Kuwaiti

_#_Organized labor: labor unions exist in oil industry and among government personnel

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: State of Kuwait

_#_Type: nominal constitutional monarchy

_#_Capital: Kuwait

_#_Administrative divisions: 4 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli; note--there may be a new governorate of Farwaniyyah

_#_Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)

_#_Constitution: 16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29 August 1962)

_#_Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: National Day, 25 February

_#_Executive branch: amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolved 3 July 1986

_#_Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Amir Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-SABAH (since 31 December 1977);

Head of Government--Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sad al-Abdallah al-Salim al-SABAH (since 8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister Salim al-Sabah al-Salim al-SABAH

_#_Political parties and leaders: none

_#_Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21; note--out of all citizens, only 8.3% are eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote

_#_Elections:

National Assembly--dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are scheduled for October 1992

_#_Communists: insignificant

_#_Other political or pressure groups: large (150,000) Palestinian community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups are active; prodemocracy opposition

_#_Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaykh Saud Nasir al-SABAH; Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-0702;

US--Ambassador Edward (Skip) GNEHM; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait City); telephone [965] 242-4151 through 4159

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Up to the invasion by Iraq in August 1990, the oil sector had dominated the economy. Kuwait has the third-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Earnings from hydrocarbons generated over 90% of both export and government revenues and contributed about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector has traditionally been dependent upon oil-derived government revenues. Iraq's destruction of Kuwait's oil industry during the Gulf war has devastated the economy. Iraq destroyed or damaged more than 80% of Kuwait's 950 operating oil wells, as well as sabotaging key surface facilities. Western firefighters had brought about 140 of the 600 oil well fires and blowouts under control as of early June 1991. It could take two to three years to restore Kuwait's oil production to its prewar level of about 2.0 million barrels per day.

_#_GDP: $19.8 billion, per capita $9,700; real growth rate 3.5% (1989)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1989)

_#_Unemployment rate: 0% (1989)

_#_Budget: revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)

_#_Exports: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);

commodities--oil 90%;

partners--Japan, Italy, FRG, US

_#_Imports: $6.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);

commodities--food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing;

partners--Japan, US, FRG, UK

_#_External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1988); accounts for 52% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 8,290,000 kW capacity; 10,000 million kWh produced, 5,000 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, salt, construction

_#_Agriculture: virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported

_#_Economic aid: donor--pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89)

_#_Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils

_#_Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1--0.2915 (January 1990), 0.2937 (1989), 0.2790 (1988), 0.2786 (1987), 0.2919 (1986), 0.3007 (1985)

_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

_*_Communications _#_Highways: 3,000 km total; 2,500 km bituminous; 500 km earth, sand, light gravel

_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas, 165 km

_#_Ports: Ash Shuaybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina al Ahmadi

_#_Merchant marine: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 1,332,159 GRT/2,099,303 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 4 livestock carrier, 20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 liquefied gas, 1 bulk; note--all Kuwaiti ships greater than 1,000 GRT were outside Kuwaiti waters at the time of the Iraqi invasion; many of these ships transferred to the Liberian flag or to the flags of other Persian Gulf states; Kuwaiti tankers are currently managed from London and Kuwaiti cargo and container ships are managed from Dubai

_#_Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 7 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: excellent international, adequate domestic facilities; 258,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT; 1 INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq and Saudi Arabia

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 738,812; 441,611 fit for military service; 19,452 reach military age (18) annually

_#_Defense expenditures: $1.1 billion, 4.8% of GDP (1990) _%_ _@_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) _%_ _@_Lebanon _*_Geography _#_Total area: 10,400 km2; land area: 10,230 km2

_#_Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

_#_Land boundaries: 454 km total; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

_#_Coastline: 225 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October 1976

_#_Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers

_#_Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

_#_Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state in a water-deficit region

_#_Land use: arable land 21%; permanent crops 9%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 8%; other 61%; includes irrigated 7%