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Laos
Index
Estimates of the industrial sector's contribution
(including
construction) to GDP vary, but most sources find it to be
slowly
increasing, from about 10 percent in 1984 to about 17
percent in
1993. The World Bank estimated the sector's contribution
at 14
percent in 1989. Most sources also indicated an increase
in the
percentage of the labor force employed in the sector, from
about 5
percent in 1970 to about 7 percent in 1980. However, World
Bank
figures available in mid-1993 indicated that the sector
employed
only just over 2 percent of the labor force in 1986. All
sources
agree that the growth of the industrial sector had
increased
throughout the 1980s; the World Bank estimated an average
annual
growth rate of 3.4 percent between 1980 and 1989, despite
negative
growth in the drought years of 1987 and 1988 during which
exports
of hydroelectricity were substantially lowered. By 1990
the growth
rate had leveled off, from a surge of nearly 32.0 percent
in 1989
to about 12.7 percent in 1992. The virtual end of the
command
economy fueled the 1989 industrial boom and supported
steady growth
for at least the medium term. Principal activities in the
industrial sector include manufacturing, construction,
mining,
processing agricultural and forestry goods, and producing
hydroelectricity.
Data as of July 1994
Loading a truck onto a boat on the Mekong River, Vientiane
Courtesy Gina Merris
Mekong River transport, Louangphrabang
Courtesy Gina Merris
Industrial Output and Employment
Estimates of the industrial sector's contribution
(including
construction) to GDP vary, but most sources find it to be
slowly
increasing, from about 10 percent in 1984 to about 17
percent in
1993. The World Bank estimated the sector's contribution
at 14
percent in 1989. Most sources also indicated an increase
in the
percentage of the labor force employed in the sector, from
about 5
percent in 1970 to about 7 percent in 1980. However, World
Bank
figures available in mid-1993 indicated that the sector
employed
only just over 2 percent of the labor force in 1986. All
sources
agree that the growth of the industrial sector had
increased
throughout the 1980s; the World Bank estimated an average
annual
growth rate of 3.4 percent between 1980 and 1989, despite
negative
growth in the drought years of 1987 and 1988 during which
exports
of hydroelectricity were substantially lowered. By 1990
the growth
rate had leveled off, from a surge of nearly 32.0 percent
in 1989
to about 12.7 percent in 1992. The virtual end of the
command
economy fueled the 1989 industrial boom and supported
steady growth
for at least the medium term. Principal activities in the
industrial sector include manufacturing, construction,
mining,
processing agricultural and forestry goods, and producing
hydroelectricity.
Data as of July 1994
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