Burma and Laos Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Burma	Laos
Leader
President: Thein Sein	President: Choummaly Sayasone
Population
55,167,330	6,695,166
Life Expectancy
65.600 years	63.140 years
Capital City
Rangoon (Yangon)	Vientiane (Viangchan)
Largest city
Rangoon (population: 4,477,640)	Vientiane (population: 196,731)
Human Development Index
NA	0.608
GDP per capita
$1,400 US	$3,000 US
Literacy Rate
89.9%	68.7%
Corruption Perception Index
NA	2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
NA	25.2%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
5.400%	2.500%
Death Penalty
NA	Abolished in practice

Political System
military junta	Communist state
Independence date
4 January 1948 (from UK)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Religions
Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%	Buddhist 67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5% (2005 census)
Languages
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Exports
natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems	wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold
External Debt
$5,448,000,000 $	$5,599,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
kyats (MMK) per US dollar - 1,205 (2008 est.), 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004) note: unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by yearend 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar; data shown for 2003-05 are official exchange rates	kips (LAK) per US dollar - 8,760.69 (2008 est.), 9,658 (2007), 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.800%	0.200%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count

Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Area
676,578 km sq	236,800 km sq
Coastline
1,930 km	0 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

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Burma vs Laos