Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination 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, limited return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1988. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.

Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam

18 00 N, 105 00 E

Southeast Asia

slightly larger than Utah

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

highest point: Phu Bia 2,817 m

timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

arable land 6.2%; permanent crops 0.7%; permanent pasture 3.7%

3,100 sq km (2012)

floods, droughts

unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water

landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand

7,019,073 (July 2016 est.)

Lao 54.6%, Khmou 10.9%, Hmong 8%, Tai 3.8%, Phuthai 3.3%, Lue 2.2%, Katang 2.1%, Makong 2.1%, Akha 1.6%, other 10.4%, unspecified 1% (2005 est.)

Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages

Buddhist 66.8%, Christian 1.5%, other 31%, unspecified 0.7% (2005 est.)

1.53% (2016 est.)

23.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

VIENTIANE (capital) 997,000 (2015)

197 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

2.76 children born/woman (2016 est.)

49.8% (2011/12)

1.9% of GDP (2014)

0.18 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2012)

urban: 85.6% of population

rural: 69.4% of population

total: 75.7% of population

urban: 14.4% of population

rural: 30.6% of population

total: 24.3% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 94.5% of population

rural: 56% of population

total: 70.9% of population

urban: 5.5% of population

rural: 44% of population

total: 29.1% of population (2015 est.)

0.26% (2014 est.)

11,100 (2014 est.)

500 (2014 est.)

3% (2014)

26.5% (2012)

4.2% of GDP (2014)

communist state

17 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 capital city* (nakhon luang, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun, Xekong, Xiangkhouang

19 July 1949 (from France)

Republic Day, 2 December (1975)

previous 1947 (preindependence); latest promulgated 13-15 August 1991; amended 2003, 2015 (2016)

civil law system similar in form to the French system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [BOUNNYANG Vorachit]

NA

ADB, ARF, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band; the red bands recall the blood shed for liberation; the blue band represents the Mekong River and prosperity; the white disk symbolizes the full moon against the Mekong River, but also signifies the unity of the people under the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, as well as the country's bright future

elephant; national colors: red, white, blue

The government of Laos, one of the few remaining one-party communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. Economic growth averaged 6% per year from 1988-2008 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997. Laos' growth has more recently been amongst the fastest in Asia and averaged nearly 8% per year for the last decade.

Nevertheless, Laos remains a country with an underdeveloped infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. It has a basic, but improving, road system, and limited external and internal land-line telecommunications. Electricity is available to 83% of the population. Agriculture, dominated by rice cultivation in lowland areas, accounts for about 25% of GDP and 73% of total employment.

Laos' economy is heavily dependent on capital-intensive natural resource exports. The economy has benefited from high-profile foreign direct investment in hydropower dams along the Mekong River, copper and gold mining, logging, and construction, although some projects in these industries have drawn criticism for their environmental impacts.

Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US in 2004 and applied for Generalized System of Preferences trade benefits in 2013 after being admitted to the World Trade Organization earlier in the year. Laos began a one-year chairmanship of ASEAN in January 2016. Laos is in the process of implementing a value-added tax system. The government appears committed to raising the country's profile among foreign investors and has developed special economic zones replete with generous tax incentives, but a small labor pool remains an impediment to investment. Laos also has ongoing problems with the business environment, including onerous registration requirements, a gap between legislation and implementation, and unclear or conflicting regulations.

$37.32 billion (2015 est.)

$34.88 billion (2014 est.)

$32.47 billion (2013 est.)

$12.5 billion (2015 est.)

7% (2015 est.)

7.4% (2014 est.)

8% (2013 est.)

$5,300 (2015 est.)

$5,100 (2014 est.)

$4,800 (2013 est.)

25% of GDP (2015 est.)

20% of GDP (2014 est.)

25.8% of GDP (2013 est.)

sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; cassava (manioc, tapioca), water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry

mining (copper, tin, gold, gypsum); timber, electric power, agricultural processing, rubber, construction, garments, cement, tourism

7.5% (2015 est.)

3.438 million (2015 est.)

1.3% (2012 est.)

1.4% (2014 est.)

22% (2013 est.)

36.7 (2008)

34.6 (2002)

22.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

-5.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

61.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

60.4% of GDP (2014 est.)

1 October - 30 September

1.3% (2015 est.)

4.1% (2014 est.)

4.3% (31 December 2010)

4% (31 December 2009)

18.2% (31 December 2015 est.)

19.2% (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.132 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.149 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.509 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.461 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$7.231 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.22 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.012 billion (2012 est.)

$576.8 million (2011 est.)

-$2.905 billion (2015 est.)

-$2.71 billion (2014 est.)

$2.928 billion (2015 est.)

$2.662 billion (2014 est.)

wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold, cassava

Thailand 30.4%, China 27%, Vietnam 17.6% (2015)

$4.058 billion (2015 est.)

$4.271 billion (2014 est.)

machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods

Thailand 60.9%, China 18.6%, Vietnam 7.3% (2015)

$1.058 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$889.7 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$10.77 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$10.72 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$15.14 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$12.44 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

kips (LAK) per US dollar -

8,147.9 (2015 est.)

8,049 (2014 est.)

8,049 (2013 est.)

8,007.3 (2012 est.)

8,035.1 (2011 est.)

16 billion kWh (2014 est.)

3.9 billion kWh (2014 est.)

13 billion kWh (2014 est.)

1.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)

3.4 million kW (2014 est.)

1.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

98.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

3,500 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

3,480 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

500,000 Mt (2013 est.)

6 TV stations operating out of Vientiane - 3 government-operated and the others commercial; 17 provincial stations operating with nearly all programming relayed via satellite from the government-operated stations in Vientiane; Chinese and Vietnamese programming relayed via satellite from Lao National TV; broadcasts available from stations in Thailand and Vietnam in border areas; multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems provide access to a wide range of foreign stations; state-controlled radio with state-operated Lao National Radio (LNR) broadcasting on 5 frequencies - 1 AM, 1 SW, and 3 FM; LNR's AM and FM programs are relayed via satellite constituting a large part of the programming schedules of the provincial radio stations; Thai radio broadcasts available in border areas and transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are also accessible (2012)

.la

RDPL (2016)

41 (2013)

refined products 540 km (2013)

4,600 km (primarily on the Mekong River and its tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m) (2012)

Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF): Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force (2011)

18 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18-months (2012)

NA% (2012)

0.23% of GDP (2011)

serving one of the world's least developed countries, the Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; its mission focus is border and internal security, primarily in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent groups; together with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state machinery, and as such is expected to suppress political and civil unrest and similar national emergencies; there is no perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains strong ties with the neighboring Vietnamese military (2012)

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 River Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries will affect water levels; Cambodia and Vietnam are concerned about Laos' extensive upstream dam construction

estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2008 was 1,900 hectares, about a 73% increase from 2007; estimated potential opium production in 2008 more than tripled to 17 metric tons; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem (2009)