Part 46

Location: Middle East, at the head of the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia Map references: Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 17,820 sq km land area: 17,820 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey Land boundaries: total 464 km, Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km Coastline: 499 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: in April 1991 Iraq officially accepted UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept the inviolability of the boundary set forth in its 1963 agreement with Kuwait, ending earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, or to all of Kuwait; the 20 May 1993 final report of the UN Iraq/Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission was welcomed by the Security Council in Resolution 833 of 27 May 1993, which also reaffirmed that the decisions of the commission on the boundary were final, bringing to a completion the official demarcation of the Iraq-Kuwait boundary; Iraqi officials still refuse to unconditionally recognize Kuwaiti sovereignty of the inviolability of the UN demarcated border; 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: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 8% forest and woodland: 0% other: 92% Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.) Environment: current issues: some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

@Kuwait, People

Population: 1,819,322 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 5.24% (1994 est.) note: this rate reflects the continued post-Gulf crisis return of nationals and expatriates Birth rate: 29.43 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 2.37 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: 25.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.99 years male: 72.83 years female: 77.25 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 4 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti Ethnic divisions: Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% Religions: Muslim 85% (Shi'a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 73% male: 77% female: 67% Labor force: 566,000 (1986) by occupation: 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% note: 70% of labor force non-Kuwaiti (1986)

@Kuwait, Government

Names: conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt Digraph: KU Type: nominal constitutional monarchy Capital: Kuwait Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al 'Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli, Al Farwaniyah Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK) National holiday: National Day, 25 February (1948) 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 Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21 note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote Executive branch: chief of state: Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977) head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the Amir Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-umma): dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections were held on 5 October 1992 with a second election in the 14th and 16th constituencies held February 1993 Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal Political parties and leaders: none Other political or pressure groups: small, clandestine leftist and Shi'a fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government policies are publicly active 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 in US: chief of mission: Ambassador MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 966-0702 FAX: (202) 966-0517 US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Ryan CROCKER embassy: Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Kuwait International Hotel), Kuwait City mailing address: P.O. Box 77 SAFAT, 13001 SAFAT, Kuwait; Unit 69000, Kuwait; APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 242-4151 through 4159 FAX: [956] 244-2855 Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

@Kuwait, Economy

Overview: Kuwait is a small and relatively open economy with proven crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Kuwait has rebuilt its war-ravaged petroleum sector; its crude oil production reached at least 2.0 million barrels per day by the end of 1993. The government ran a sizable fiscal deficit in 1993. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP and 90% of export and government revenues. National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $25.7 billion (1993 est.) National product real growth rate: 15% (1993 est.) National product per capita: $15,100 (1993 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993) Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1992 est.) Budget: revenues: $9 billion expenditures: $13 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93) Exports: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: oil partners: France 16%, Italy 15%, Japan 12%, UK 11% Imports: $6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing partners: US 35%, Japan 12%, UK 9%, Canada 9% External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.) note: external debt has grown substantially in 1991 and 1992 to pay for restoration of war damage Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for NA% of GDP Electricity: capacity: 6,873,000 kW available out of 7,398,000 kW due to Persian Gulf war production: 12.264 billion kWh consumption per capita: 8,890 kWh (1992) Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, building materials, salt, construction Agriculture: practically none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported Economic aid: donor: pledged bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89), $18.3 billion Currency: 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1 - 0.2982 (January 1994), 0.3017 (1993), 0.2934 (1992), 0.2843 (1991), 0.2915 (1990), 0.2937 (1989) Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

@Kuwait, Communications

Railroads: none Highways: total: 3,900 km paved: bituminous 3,000 km unpaved: gravel, sand, earth 900 km Pipelines: crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km Ports: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' Su'ud Merchant marine: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 2,153,693 GRT/3,561,568 DWT, cargo 10, container 2, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 23 Airports: total: 7 usable: 4 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 0 Telecommunications: civil network suffered extensive damage as a result of the Gulf war and reconstruction is still under way with some restored international and domestic capabilities; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 0 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations - destroyed during Gulf war and not rebuilt yet; temporary mobile satellite ground stations provide international telecommunications; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; service to Iraq is nonoperational

@Kuwait, Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard Manpower availability: males age 15-49 537,696; fit for military service 321,767; reach military age (18) annually 15,354 (1994 est.) Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.5 billion, 7.3% of GDP (FY92/93)

@Kyrgyzstan, Geography

Location: Central Asia, between China and Kazakhstan Map references: Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 198,500 sq km land area: 191,300 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota Land boundaries: total 3,878 km, China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none; landlocked International disputes: territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area Climate: dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone Terrain: peaks of Tien Shan rise to 7,000 meters, and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation Natural resources: small amounts of coal abundant hydroelectric potential; significant deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc, natural gas, oil, nepheline, rare earth metals, mercury, bismuth, gold, lead, zinc, hydroelectric power Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: NEGL% meadows and pastures: 42% forest and woodland: 0% other: 51% Irrigated land: 10,320 sq km (1990) Environment: current issues: water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells and as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA Note: landlocked

@Kyrgyzstan, People

Population: 4,698,108 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 1.53% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 26.33 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 7.36 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: -3.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 46.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.92 years male: 63.69 years female: 72.35 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.35 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Kyrgyz(s) adjective: Kyrgyz Ethnic divisions: Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 21.5%, Uzbek 12.9%, Ukrainian 2.5%, German 2.4%, other 8.3% Religions: Muslim 70%, Russian Orthodox NA% Languages: Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian widely used Literacy: age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% Labor force: 1.836 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 38%, industry and construction 21%, other 41% (1990)

@Kyrgyzstan, Government

Names: conventional long form: Kyrgyz Republic conventional short form: Kyrgyzstan local long form: Kyrgyz Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic Digraph: KG Type: republic Capital: Bishkek Administrative divisions: 6 oblasttar (singular - oblast); Chuy Oblasty, Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty, Ysyk-Kol Oblasty note: the administrative center for Chuy Oblasty is Bishkek; the administrative center for Ysyk-Kol Oblasty may be Ksyk-Kol or Karakol; all other oblasttar have administrative centers of the same name as the oblast Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) National holiday: National Day, 2 December; Independence Day, 31 August (1991) Constitution: adopted 5 May 1993 Legal system: based on civil law system Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: President Askar AKAYEV (since 28 October 1990); election last held 12 October 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Askar AKAYEV won in uncontested election with 95% of vote and with 90% of electorate voting; note - president elected by Supreme Soviet 28 October 1990, then by popular vote 12 October 1991; note - AKAYEV won 96% of the vote in a referendum on his status as president on 30 January 1993 head of government: Prime Minister Apas DZHUMAGULOV (since NA December 1993); First Deputy Prime Minister Almambet MATURBRAIMOV (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers; subordinate to the president Legislative branch: unicameral Zhogorku Keneshom: elections last held 25 February 1990 for the Supreme Soviet (next to be held no later than NA November 1994 for the Zhogorku Keneshom); results - Communists 90%; seats - (350 total) Communists 310 Judicial branch: Supreme Court Political parties and leaders: Social Democrats, Ishenbai KADYRBEKOV, chairman; Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM), Kazat AKHMATOV, chairman; National Unity, German KUZNETSOV; Communist Party, Dzhumalbek AMANBAYEV, chairman; Erkin (Free) Kyrgyzstan Party, Topchubek TURGUNALIYEV, chairman Other political or pressure groups: National Unity Democratic Movement; Peasant Party; Council of Free Trade Unions; Union of Entrepreneurs; Agrarian Party Member of: CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IOC, NACC, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant) chancery: (temporary) Suite 705, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: (202) 347-3732/3 FAX: (202) 347-3718 US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Edward HURWITZ embassy: Erkindik Prospekt #66, Bishkek 720002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: 7-3312 22-29-20, 22-26-93, 22-29-89 FAX: 7-3312 22-35-51 Flag: red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays representing the 40 Krygyz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kyrgyz yurt

@Kyrgyzstan, Economy

Overview: Kyrgyzstan is one of the smallest and poorest states of the former Soviet Union. Its economy is heavily agricultural, producing cotton and tobacco on irrigated land in the south, grain in the foothills of the north, and sheep and goats on mountain pastures. Its small and obsolescent industrial sector, concentrated around Bishkek, is heavily dependent on Russia and other CIS countries for customers and for inputs, including most of its fuel. Since 1990, the economy has contracted by almost 40%. Kyrgyzstan's inflation was high in 1993, about 23% per month, but rates were declining at the end of the year. Kyrgyzstan introduced its national currency, the som, in May 1993, it has privatized 28% of its former state assets, and plans call for a massive voucher privatization in 1994. Although Kyrgyzstan will receive relatively large flows of foreign aid, ongoing economic restructuring will continue to be painful with an anticipated increase in unemployment as uneconomic enterprises close. President AKAYEV will be under strong political pressure to backtrack on some reform measures. National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $11.3 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Kirghiz statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990) National product real growth rate: -13.4% (1993 est.) National product per capita: $2,440 (1993 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23% per month (1993 est.) Unemployment rate: 0.2% includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed workers Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $100.4 million to countries outside the FSU (1993 est.) commodities: wool, chemicals, cotton, ferrous and nonferrous metals, shoes, machinery, tobacco partners: Russia 70%, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and others Imports: $105.8 million from countries outside the FSU (1993 est.) commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals, fuel, machinery, textiles, footwear partners: other CIS republics External debt: $NA Industrial production: growth rate -27% (1993 est.) Electricity: capacity: 4,100,000 kW production: 11.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,551 kWh (1992) Industries: small machinery, textiles, food-processing industries, cement, shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors, gold, and rare earth metals Agriculture: wool, tobacco, cotton, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle), vegetables, meat, grapes, fruits and berries, eggs, milk, potatoes Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North America from Central and Southwest Asia Economic aid: recipient: $80 million in 1993 and an anticipated $400 million in 1994 Currency: introduced national currency, the som (10 May 1993) Exchange rates: NA Fiscal year: calendar year

@Kyrgyzstan, Communications

Railroads: 370 km; does not include industrial lines (1990) Highways: total: 30,300 km paved and graveled: 22,600 km unpaved: earth 7,700 km (1990) Pipelines: natural gas 200 km Ports: none; landlocked Airports: total: 52 usable: 27 with permanent-surface runways: 12 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 4 with runways 1,060-2,439 m: 13 note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip Telecommunications: poorly developed; 342,000 telephones in 1991 (also about 100,000 unsatisfied applications for household telephones); 76 telephones per 1,000 persons (31 December 1991); microwave radio relay is principal means of intercity telephone links; connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; 2 satellite earth stations - 1 GORIZONT and 1 INTELSAT (links through Ankara to 200 other countries and receives Turkish broadcasts); broadcast receivers - radios 825,000, TVs 875,000, radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for program diffusion 748,000

@Kyrgyzstan, Defense Forces

Branches: National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops), Civil Defense Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,123,959; fit for military service 912,516; reach military age (18) annually 44,528 (1994 est.) Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

@Laos, Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, between Vietnam and Thailand Map references: Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 236,800 sq km land area: 230,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Utah Land boundaries: total 5,083 km, Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none; landlocked International 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: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 58% other: 35% Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1989 est.) Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion natural hazards: subject to floods, drought, and blight international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea Note: landlocked

@Laos, People

Population: 4,701,654 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 2.85% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 43.23 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 14.74 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 101.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.68 years male: 50.16 years female: 53.28 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 6.07 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian Ethnic divisions: Lao 50%, Phoutheung (Kha) 15%, tribal Thai 20%, Meo, Hmong, Yao, and other 15% Religions: Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15% Languages: Lao (official), French, English Literacy: age 15-45 can read and write (1993) total population: 64% male: NA% female: NA% Labor force: 1-1.5 million by occupation: agriculture 85-90% (est.)

@Laos, Government

Names: conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none Digraph: LA 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, Xekong, Vientiane, Viangchan*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France) National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic) Constitution: promulgated 14 August 1991 Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: President NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN (since 25 November 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15 August 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president, approved by the Assembly Legislative branch: unicameral Third National Assembly: elections last held on 20 December 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total) number of seats by party NA Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; includes Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC); other

## parties moribund

Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders fled the country in 1975 Member of: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 332-6416 or 6417 FAX: (202) 332-4923 US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Victor TOMSETH embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane, or American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [851] 2220, 2357, or 3570, 16-9581 FAX: [851] 4675 Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band

@Laos, Economy

Overview: Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of major productive enterprises. Since 1986, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure; 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; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $4.1 billion (1993 est.) National product real growth rate: 7% (1992 est.) National product per capita: $900 (1993 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.8% (1992 est.) Unemployment rate: 21% (1989 est.) Budget: revenues: $83 million expenditures: $188.5 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (1990 est.) Exports: $133 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin partners: Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, FSU, US, China Imports: $266 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures partners: Thailand, FSU, Japan, France, Vietnam, China External debt: $1.1 billion (1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 12% (1991 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1991 est.) Electricity: capacity: 226,000 kW production: 990 million kWh consumption per capita: 220 kWh (1992) Industries: tin and gypsum 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 nondrought years; principal crops - rice (80% of cultivated land), sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, cotton; livestock - buffaloes, hogs, cattle, poultry Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, third-largest opium producer (180 metric tons in 1993) Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $605 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $995 million Currency: 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1 - 720 (July 1993). 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700 (September 1990), 576 (1989) Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

@Laos, Communications

Railroads: none Highways: total: 27,527 km paved: bituminous 1,856 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 7,451 km; unimproved earth 18,220 km (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: petroleum products 136 km Ports: none Merchant marine: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT Airports: total: 53 usable: 41 with permanent-surface runways: 8 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15 Telecommunications: service to general public practically non-existant; radio communications network provides generally erratic service to government users; 7,390 telephones (1986); broadcast stations - 10 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

@Laos, Defense Forces