Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.
Location
Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Geographic coordinates
18 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references
Southeast Asia
Area
total
236,800 sq km
land
230,800 sq km
water
6,000 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly larger than Utah
Land boundaries
total
5,083 km
border countries
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)
Climate
tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)
Terrain
mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Elevation extremes
lowest point
Mekong River 70 m
highest point
Phou Bia 2,817 m
Natural resources
timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use
arable land
4.01%
permanent crops
0.34%
other
95.65% (2005)
Irrigated land
1,750 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards
floods, droughts
Environment - current issues
Environment - international agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
Population
6,521,998 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252)
15-64 years
55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168)
65 years and over
3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
19 years
male
18.7 years
female
19.3 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.37% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.008 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.978 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.791 male(s)/female
total population
0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
81.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male
90.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female
71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
55.89 years
male
53.82 years
female
58.04 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
1,700 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun
Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective
Lao or Laotian
Ethnic groups
Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Religions
Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census)
Languages
Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
68.7%
male
77%
female
60.9% (2001 est.)
Country name
conventional long form
Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form
Laos
local long form
Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
local short form
none
Government type
Communist state
Capital
name
Vientiane
geographic coordinates
17 58 N, 102 36 E
time difference
UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006)
head of government
Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001)
cabinet
Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly
elections
president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term
election results
CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2
Judicial branch
People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee)
Political parties and leaders
Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders
noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mary Grace McGEEHAN
embassy
19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane
mailing address
American Embassy Vientiane, Box V, APO AP 96546
telephone
[856] 21-26 7000
FAX
[856] 21-26 7074
Flag description
three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
Economy - overview
The government of Laos, one of the few remaining official Communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 6% per year in 1988-2006 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$13.63 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$2.773 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$2,100 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
43.4%
industry
30.6%
services
26% (2006 est.)
Labor force
2.1 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
80%
industry and services
20% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate
2.4% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line
30.7% (2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
3.2%
highest 10%
30.6% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
37 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.8% (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$400 million
expenditures
$537.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement
Industrial production growth rate
15.7% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
3.936 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
1.4%
hydro
98.6%
nuclear
0%
other
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
3.26 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports
600 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports
200 million kWh (2004)
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
3,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Current account balance
-$504.2 million (2006 est.)
Exports
$982.2 million (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin
Exports - partners
Thailand 42.4%, Vietnam 10%, China 4.2%, Malaysia 4.2% (2006)
Imports
$1.376 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Imports - partners
Thailand 69%, China 11.4%, Vietnam 5.6% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$316.9 million (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$3.179 billion (2006)
Economic aid - recipient
$379 million (2006 est.)
Currency (code)
kip (LAK)
Currency code
LAK
Exchange rates
kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002)
Fiscal year
1 October - 30 September
Telephones - main lines in use
90,067 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular
520,546 (2006)
Telephone system
general assessment
service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic
radiotelephone communications
international
country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006)
Radios
730,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations
7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006)
Televisions
52,000 (1997)
Internet country code
.la
Internet hosts
1,108 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2000)
Internet users
25,000 (2005)
Airports
44 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
9
2,438 to 3,047 m
2
1,524 to 2,437 m
4
914 to 1,523 m
3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
35
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
914 to 1,523 m
13
under 914 m
21 (2006)
Pipelines
refined products 540 km (2006)
Roadways
total
31,210 km
paved
4,494 km
unpaved
26,716 km (2003)
Waterways
4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007)
Merchant marine
total
1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type
cargo 1 (2006)
Military branches
Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military service age and obligation
15 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 15-49
1,500,625
females age 15-49
1,521,116 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 15-49
954,816
females age 15-49
1,006,082 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
73,167
females age 15-49
71,432 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.5% (2006)
Military - note
Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)
Disputes - international
Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Illicit drugs
estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem
