Iran and Laos Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Iran	Laos
Leader
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei	President: Choummaly Sayasone
Population
78,868,711	6,586,266
Life Expectancy
70.350 years	62.770 years
Capital City
Tehran	Vientiane (Viangchan)
Largest city
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)	Vientiane (population: 196,731)
Human Development Index
0.777	0.608
GDP per capita
$13,200 US	$2,700 US
Literacy Rate
77%	68.7%
Corruption Perception Index
2.3	2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
2.8%	25.2%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
15.300%	2.500%
Death Penalty
Legal	Abolished in practice

Political System
theocratic republic	Communist state
Independence date
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	19 July 1949 (from France)
Religions
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%	Buddhist 67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5% (2005 census)
Languages
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets	wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold
External Debt
$17,900,000,000 $	$5,953,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - 9,142.8 (2008 est.), 9,407.5 (2007), 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004) note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002	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
2.500%	0.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2	0
Location
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Area
1,648,195 km sq	236,800 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km	0 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

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Iran vs Laos