, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IRC, ITU, Mekong
Committee, NAM, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: none

Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center

- Economy
Overview: This is a centrally planned, developing economy with
extensive government ownership and control of productive facilities.
The economy is primarily agricultural, employing about 65% of the labor
force and accounting for almost half of GNP. Rice is the staple crop;
substantial amounts of maize, sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes are
also grown. The government permits sale of surplus grain on the open
market. Most of the mineral resources are located in the north,
including coal, which is an important export item. Following the
end of the war in 1975, heavy handed government measures undermined
efforts at an efficient merger of the agricultural resources of the
south and the industrial resources of the north. The economy remains
heavily dependent on foreign aid and has received assistance from
Communist countries, Sweden, and UN agencies. Inflation, although down
from recent triple-digit levels, is still a major weakness, and per
capita output is among the world's lowest. Since early 1989 the
government has sponsored a broad reform program that seeks to turn more
economic activity over to the private sector.

GNP: $14.2 billion, per capita $215; real growth rate 8% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $3.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $528 million (1987 est.)

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--agricultural and
handicraft products, coal, minerals, ores; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe,
Japan, Singapore

Imports: $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum,
steel products, railroad equipment, chemicals, medicines, raw cotton,
fertilizer, grain; partners--USSR, Eastern Europe, Japan, Singapore

External debt: $16 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 10% (1989)

Electricity: 2,465,000 kW capacity; 6,730 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: food processing, textiles, machine building, mining,
cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, fishing

Agriculture: accounts for half of GNP; paddy rice, corn, potatoes make up
50% of farm output; commercial crops (rubber, soybeans, coffee,