Laos

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Pp-move Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infoboxTemplate |templatestyles = Template:Infobox country/styles.css | bodyclass = ib-country vcard | aboveclass = adr | above = {{#if:Lao People's Democratic RepublicTemplate:Ubl 

    | {{#if:Lao People's Democratic Republic

|

Lao People's Democratic Republic
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Template:Br separated entries
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|

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}}

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 |Template:Infobox country/imagetable }}

| data1 = {{#if:Template:Lang
Template:Transliteration
"Peace, Independence, Democracy, Unity and Prosperity"

|Motto: Template:If empty{{#if:|

{{{englishmotto}}}

}} 

   }}

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Template:Transliteration
"Lao National Anthem"Template:ParabrTemplate:Center 

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Royal anthem: {{{royal_anthem}}}
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       |
Flag anthem: {{{flag_anthem}}}
       }}{{#if:
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National march: {{{national_march}}}
       }}{{#if:
       |
Territorial anthem: {{{territorial_anthem}}}
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       |
Regional anthem: {{{regional_anthem}}}
       }}{{#if:
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State anthem: {{{state_anthem}}}
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March: {{{march}}}
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Template:Map caption

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|{{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=|size=|alt=|title=Location of Laos }}{{#if:|

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                        |capital|{{#switch:Vientiane
                          | capital = capital
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}}}}|capital |

and largest city
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{{#invoke:Coordinates|coordinsert|Template:Coord|type:city}}}} }}

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Template:If empty
 |Template:If empty
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(2015<ref name="Census2015">Template:Cite web</ref>)

|

}}

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({{{religion_year}}})

|

}}

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}} 

     | {{#if:| | Establishment }}
 }} }}

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  }}<ref name=CIA>Template:Cite CIA World Factbook</ref>{{#if:82nd | (82nd) }}
 }}

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• 

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• {{{FR_metropole}}}

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• IGN

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• 

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| rowclass101= mergedtoprow | label101= {{#ifeq:|yes|Claimed|}} GDP Template:Nobold | data101= {{#if:Template:Increase $78.850 billion<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Increase $10,120<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases"/> 

    |{{#if:2025 |2025 }}estimate
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• Total

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• Per capita

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  |{{#if:2025 |2025 }}estimate
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• Total

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• Per capita

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| label107= Gini{{#if:2012 | Template:Nobold}} | data107= {{#if:36.4 

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Template:Nowrap{{#if:
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| label108= HDI{{#if:2023 | Template:Nobold}} | data108= {{#if:0.617 

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Template:Nowrap{{#if:147th
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| label109= {{#ifeq:|yes|Purported currency|Currency}} | data109= {{#if:Kip (₭) 

    | Kip (₭) {{#if:LAK |(LAK)}}
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| label128= Internet TLD | data128= .la

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|

Website
{{{official_website}}}
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| {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=|size=|alt=|title=Location of Laos }}{{#if:|

}} 

 }}

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             |Template:Infobox country/formernext

}}

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|

    {{#if:|
  1. }}{{#if:|
  2. }}{{#if:|
  3. }}{{#if:|
  4. }}{{#if:|
  5. }}{{#if:|
  6. }}{{#if:|
  7. }}{{#if:|
  8. }}

}}

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Template:Notelist{{#if:|
{{{footnotes2}}}}}

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Laos,Template:Efn officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR),Template:Efn is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Located on the Indochinese Peninsula, it is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Having a population of approximately 8 million,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> its capital and most populous city is Vientiane.

The country traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, a kingdom which existed from the 13th to 18th centuries. Through its location, the kingdom was a hub for overland trade.<ref name="Stuart-Fox">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1707, Lan Xang split into three kingdoms: Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champasak. In 1893, these kingdoms were unified under French protection as part of French Indochina. Laos was under Japanese administration during World War II, gaining independence in 1945 before returning to French administration until achieving autonomy in 1949. The country regained full independence in 1953 as the Kingdom of Laos, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A Civil War from 1959 to 1975 saw the communist Pathet Lao, supported by North Vietnam, China and the Soviet Union, oppose the Royal Lao Armed Forces, backed by the United States. The war ended with the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975 that aligned with the Soviet Union until the latter's dissolution in 1991.

Laos is home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the historic town of Luang Prabang, the ancient temple complex of Vat Phou, and the Plain of Jars.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As one of the five active communist states as of 2025, and the only one that self-designates as a people's democratic stateTemplate:Sfnm, Laos has been governed by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) since 1975. It has used market-oriented reforms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Laos's development strategy emphasizes regional connectivity through infrastructure development. The 2021 completion of the Laos–China Railway (LCR), connecting Vientiane to Kunming, has increased trade and tourism accessibility.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The country participates in the Greater Mekong Subregion economic cooperation program, focusing on cross-border infrastructure and energy projects.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The World Bank has recognized Laos as one of Southeast Asia and Pacific's fastest growing economies, with annual GDP growth averaging 7.4% since 2009, driven by expanding tourism, energy exports, and foreign investment. While classified as a least developed country by the United Nations, Laos is a member of ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, East Asia Summit, La Francophonie, and the World Trade Organization.<ref name="wto">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Template:Main

Prehistory

In 2009, an anatomically modern human skull was recovered from the Tam Pa Ling Cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos; the skull is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast Asia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Stone artifacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Pleistocene in northern Laos.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Archaeological evidence suggests an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BCE,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a society in which bronze objects appeared around 1500 BCE, and iron tools were known from 700 BCE. The proto-historic period is characterised by contact with Chinese and Indian civilisations. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward to the territories of Laos and Thailand from Guangxi sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.<ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Lan Xang

Template:Main Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang ('million elephants'), which was founded in the 13th century by a Lao prince, Fa Ngum,<ref name="Coedes">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp whose father had his family exiled from the Khmer Empire. Fa Ngum, with 10,000 Khmer troops, conquered some Lao principalities in the Mekong river basin, culminating in the capture of Vientiane. Ngum was descended from a line of Lao kings that traced back to Khoun Boulom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He made Theravada Buddhism the state religion. His ministers, unable to tolerate his ruthlessness, forced him into exile to what is later the Thai province of Nan in 1373,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where he died. Fa Ngum's eldest son, Oun Heuan, ascended to the throne under the name Samsenethai and reigned for 43 years. Lan Xang became a trade centre during Samsenthai's reign, and after his death in 1421 it collapsed into warring factions for nearly a century.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 3, "Through Chaos to a New Order", in The Kingdoms of Laos (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). Template:ISBN</ref>

In 1520, Photisarath came to the throne and moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane to avoid a Burmese invasion. Setthathirath became king in 1548, after his father was killed, and ordered the construction of That Luang. Settathirath disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into Cambodia, and Lan Xang fell into more than 70 years of "instability", involving Burmese invasion and civil war.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 6, "Seventy Years of Anarchy", in The Kingdoms of Laos (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). Template:ISBN; see also P.C. Sinha, ed., Encyclopaedia of South East and Far East Asia, vol. 3 (Anmol, 2006).</ref>

In 1637, when Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne, Lan Xang further expanded its frontiers. When he died without an heir, the kingdom split into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Prabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature and improved relations with Luang Phrabang. Under Vietnamese pressure, he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826. The rebellion failed, and Vientiane was ransacked.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Anouvong was taken to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he died.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In a time period where the acquisition of humans was a priority over the ownership of land, the warfare of pre-modern Southeast Asia revolved around the seizing of people and resources from its enemies. A Siamese military campaign in Laos in 1876 was described by a British observer as having been "transformed into slave-hunting raids on a large scale".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

French Laos (1893–1953)

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File:Local Lao in the French Colonial guard.png
Local Lao soldiers in the French Colonial guard, Template:Circa

In the 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese Black Flag Army.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> France rescued King Oun Kham and added Luang Phrabang to the protectorate of French Indochina. The Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were added to the protectorate. King Sisavangvong of Luang Phrabang became ruler of a unified Laos, and Vientiane once again became the capital.<ref>Carine Hahn, Le Laos, Karthala, 1999, pp. 69–72</ref>

Laos produced tin, rubber, and coffee; the country never accounted for more than 1% of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos; this was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a labour shortage within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space.<ref name="SørenIvarsson">Template:Cite book</ref> By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in some cities of Laos and having the right to elect its own leaders. As a result, 53% of the population of Vientiane, 85% of Thakhek, and 62% of Pakse were Vietnamese; the exception was Luang Prabang, where the population was predominantly Lao. As late as 1945, the French drew up a plan to move a number of Vietnamese to three areas (i.e., the Vientiane Plain, Savannakhet region, and the Bolaven Plateau), which was derailed by the Japanese invasion of Indochina. Otherwise, according to Martin Stuart-Fox, the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA">Template:Cite book</ref>

During World War II in Laos, Vichy France, Thailand, Imperial Japan and Free France occupied Laos.<ref>Paul Lévy, Histoire du Laos, PUF, 1974.</ref> On 9 March 1945, a nationalist group declared Laos once more independent, with Luang Prabang as its capital; on 7 April 1945, two battalions of Japanese troops occupied the city. The Japanese attempted to force Sisavang Vong (the king of Luang Phrabang) to declare Laotian independence, and on 8 April he instead declared an end to Laos's status as a French protectorate. The king then secretly sent Prince Kindavong to represent Laos to the Allied forces and Prince Sisavang as representative to the Japanese.<ref name="A Country Study: Laos">Savada, Andrea Matles (editor) (1994). "Events in 1945". A Country Study: Laos Template:Webarchive. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.</ref> When Japan surrendered, some Lao nationalists (including Prince Phetsarath) declared Laotian independence, and by 1946, French troops had reoccupied the country and conferred autonomy on Laos.<ref name="britannica" />

During the First Indochina War, the Indochinese Communist Party formed the Pathet Lao independence organisation. The Pathet Lao began a war against the French colonial forces with the aid of the Vietnamese independence organisation, the Viet Minh. In 1950, the French were forced to give Laos semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the French Union. France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy.<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Independence and communist rule (1953–)

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File:FrenchLaos1953.png
French general Raoul Salan and Prince Sisavang Vatthana in Luang Prabang, 4 May 1953

The First Indochina War took place across French Indochina and eventually led to French defeat and the signing of a peace accord for Laos at the Geneva Conference of 1954. In 1960, amidst a series of rebellions in the Kingdom of Laos, fighting broke out between the Royal Lao Army (RLA) and the communist North Vietnamese and Soviet Union-backed Pathet Lao guerillas. A second Provisional Government of National Unity formed by Prince Souvanna Phouma in 1962 was unsuccessful, and the situation turned into civil war between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong.<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="britannica" />

File:Muang Khoun - Laos - 01.JPG
Ruins of Muang Khoun, former capital of Xiangkhouang province, destroyed by the American bombing of Laos in the 1960s

Laos was a part of the Vietnam War since parts of Laos were invaded and occupied by North Vietnam since 1958 for use as a supply route for its war against South Vietnam. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the PAVN positions, supported regular and irregular anti-communist forces in Laos, and supported incursions into Laos by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.<ref name=bbc /><ref name=britannica />

Aerial bombardments against the PAVN/Pathet Lao forces were carried out by the United States to prevent the collapse of the Kingdom of Laos central government, and to deny the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to attack US forces in South Vietnam.<ref name=bbc /> Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1 million tons of bombs the US dropped on Europe and Asia during all of World War II. This made Laos the most heavily bombed country in history relative to the size of its population; The New York Times notes this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Some 80 million bombs failed to explode and remain scattered throughout the country. Unexploded ordnance (UXO), including cluster munitions and mines, kill or maim approximately 50 Laotians every year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to the impact of cluster bombs during this war, Laos was an advocate of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the weapons and was host to the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Vientianne1973.jpg
Pathet Lao soldiers in Vientiane, 1973

In 1975, the Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died in a re-education camp. Between 20,000 and 62,000 Laotians died during the civil war.<ref name=bbc /><ref>Template:Cite journal See Table 3.</ref>

On 2 December 1975, after taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government under Kaysone Phomvihane renamed the country as the Lao People's Democratic Republic; the government also signed agreements giving Vietnam the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. The ties between Laos and Vietnam were formalised via a treaty signed in 1977, which has since provided direction for Lao foreign policy, and provides the basis for Vietnamese involvement at levels of Lao political and economic life.<ref name=bbc /><ref name="Martin Stuart-Fox">Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1979, Laos was requested by Vietnam to end relations with the People's Republic of China; this led to isolation in trade by China, the United States, and other countries.<ref name="DamienKingsbury">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1979, there were 50,000 PAVN troops stationed in Laos and as many as 6,000 civilian Vietnamese officials including 1,000 directly attached to the ministries in Vientiane.<ref name="Savada">Savada, Andrea M. (1995). Laos: a country study Template:Webarchive. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, p. 271. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Prayaga">Prayaga, M. (2005). Renovation in Vietnam since 1988 a study in political, economic and social change Template:Webarchive (PhD thesis). Sri Venkateswara University. Chapter IV: The Metamorphosed Foreign Relations, pg. 154.</ref>

Relations with the Hmong

The conflict between Hmong rebels and Laos continued in areas of Laos, including in Saysaboune Closed Military Zone, Xaisamboune Closed Military Zone near Vientiane Province and Xiangkhouang Province.<ref>Laos (04/09) Template:Webarchive. U.S. Department of State.Template:Failed verification</ref> In 1977, a communist newspaper promised the party would hunt down the "American collaborators" and their families "to the last root".<ref name="timesonline2006">Template:Cite news</ref> As many as 200,000 Hmong went into exile in Thailand, with some ending up in the US. Other Hmong fighters hid out in mountains in Xiangkhouang Province for years, with a remnant emerging from the jungle in 2003.<ref name="timesonline2006" />

In 1989, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the US government, instituted the Comprehensive Plan of Action, a programme to stem the tide of Indochinese refugees from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Under the plan, refugee status was evaluated through a screening process. Recognised asylum seekers were given resettlement opportunities, while the remaining refugees were to be repatriated under guarantee of safety. After talks with the UNHCR and the Thai government, Laos agreed to repatriate the 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including several thousand Hmong people. Some of the Lao refugees were willing to return voluntarily.<ref>"Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand", U.P.I., 5 June 1991.</ref> Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, allegations of forced repatriation surfaced.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of those Hmong who did return to Laos, some escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1993, Vue Mai, a former Hmong soldier and leader of the largest Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, who had been recruited by the US Embassy in Bangkok to return to Laos as proof of the repatriation programme's success, disappeared in Vientiane. According to the US Committee for Refugees, he was arrested by Lao security forces and was never seen again.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following the Vue Mai incident, debate over the Hmong's planned repatriation to Laos intensified, including in the United States, where it drew opposition from American conservatives and some human rights advocates.<ref name="web.archive.org">Template:Cite web</ref> While some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996 as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, and under mounting political pressure, the United States agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a screening process.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees had already been living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, and the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the illegal drug trade and were of non-Lao origin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the United States, in a victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the United States, fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizeable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lending further support to earlier claims that the government of Laos was persecuting the Hmong, filmmaker Rebecca Sommer documented first-hand accounts in her documentary, Hunted Like Animals,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in a comprehensive report that includes summaries of refugee claims, which was submitted to the UN in May 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

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File:Mekong River (Luang Prabang).jpg
Mekong River flowing through Luang Prabang

Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°N (an area is south of 14°), and longitudes 100° and 108°E. Its forested landscape consists mostly of mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia at Template:Convert, with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a part of the western boundary with Thailand, where the mountains of the Annamite Range form most of the eastern border with Vietnam and the Luang Prabang Range the northwestern border with the Thai highlands. There are two plateaus, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau at the southern end. Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas: north, central, and south.<ref name="autogenerated3">Template:Cite web</ref> Laos had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.59/10, ranking it 98th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1993, the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for habitat conservation preservation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country is one of four nations in the opium poppy growing region known as the "Golden Triangle".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the October 2007 UNODC fact book Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia, the poppy cultivation area was Template:Convert; this is down from Template:Convert in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

File:Koppen-Geiger Map LAO present.svg
Köppen climate classification map of Laos

The climate is mostly tropical savanna and influenced by the monsoon pattern. There is a rainy season from May to October, followed by a dry season from November to April. Local tradition holds that there are three seasons: rainy, cool and hot. Further, the latter two months of the climatologically defined dry season are hotter than the earlier four months.<ref name="climate">Template:Cite web</ref>

Wildlife

Template:Main Laos, with its forests and river systems, is home to an amount of wildlife.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> National parks like Nam Et-Phou Louey are critical refuges, supporting endangered species such as the northern white-cheeked gibbon and the saola.<ref name="Laos wildlife1">Template:Cite web</ref> These forests shelter more than 50 mammal species and nearly 300 bird species, along with a variety of reptiles and amphibians.Template:Efn

Administrative divisions

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File:Provinces-Laos.svg
An updated map of Lao provinces (from 2014)

Laos is divided into 17 provinces (khoueng) and one prefecture (kampheng nakhon), which includes the capital city Vientiane (Nakhon Louang Viangchan).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

No. Subdivisions Capital Area (km2) Population
1 Attapeu Attapeu (Samakkhixay district) 10,320 114,300
2 Bokeo Houayxay (Houayxay district) 6,196 149,700
3 Bolikhamsai Paksan (Paksane District) 14,863 214,900
4 Champasak Pakse (Pakse District) 15,415 575,600
5 Houaphanh Xam Neua (Xamneua District) 16,500 322,200
6 Khammouane Thakhek (Thakhek District) 16,315 358,800
7 Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (Namtha District) 9,325 150,100
8 Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Luang Prabang district) 16,875 408,800
9 Oudomxay Muang Xay (Xay District) 15,370 275,300
10 Phongsaly Phongsali (Phongsaly District) 16,270 199,900
11 Sainyabuli Sayabouly (Xayabury District) 16,389 382,200
12 Salavan Salavan (Salavan District) 10,691 336,600
13 Savannakhet Savannakhet (Kaysone Phomvihane District) 21,774 721,500
14 Sekong Sekong (Lamarm District) 7,665 83,600
15 Vientiane Prefecture Vientiane (Chanthabouly district) 3,920 1,001,477
16 Vientiane Province Phonhong (Phonhong District) 15,927 373,700
17 Xiengkhouang Phonsavan (Pek District) 15,880 229,521
18 Xaisomboun Anouvong (Anouvong district) 8,300 82,000

Politics

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The LPDR is a communist state that self-designates as a people's democratic state, meaning that it is officially trying to transition the country from capitalism to communism.

Template:As of, the head of state is President Thongloun Sisoulith. He has been General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, a position making him the de facto leader of Laos, since January 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Laos's first French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on 11 May 1947, and declared Laos an independent state within the French Union. The revised constitution of 11 May 1957 omitted reference to the French Union, while educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated in December 1975, when a communist people's republic was proclaimed. A constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP.<ref name=bbc />

File:Flag of LPRP.svg
Flag of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party

In The Economist's Democracy Index 2016, Laos was classified as an "authoritarian regime", ranking lowest of the 9 ASEAN nations included in the study.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Laos in 2024 was autocratic.<ref name="j496">Template:Cite web</ref>

Foreign relations

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File:Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ASEAN heads of state and government at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.jpg
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ASEAN heads of state in New Delhi on 25 January 2018

The foreign relations of Laos after the takeover by the Pathet Lao in December 1975 were characterised by a hostile posture toward the West, with the government of the Lao PDR aligning itself with the Soviet Bloc, maintaining ties with the Soviet Union<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and depending on the Soviets for most of its foreign assistance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Laos's emergence from international isolation has been marked through expanded relations with other countries including Russia, China, Thailand, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trade relations with the United States were normalised in November 2004 through Congress approved legislation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Laos was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997 and acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, it attended the inaugural East Asia Summit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Human rights

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Civil society advocates, human rights defenders, political and religious dissidents, and Hmong refugees have disappeared at the hands of Lao military and security forces.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ostensibly, the Constitution of Laos that was promulgated in 1991 and amended in 2003 contains safeguards for human rights. For example, Article 8 makes it clear that Laos is a multinational state and is committed to equality between ethnic groups. The constitution contains provisions for gender equality, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of press and assembly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 25 September 2009, Laos ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, nine years after signing the treaty. The stated policy objectives of the Lao government and international donors remain focused upon achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An organisation raised concerns in relation to freedom of expression, prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of religions, protection of refugees and asylum-seekers, and the death penalty.<ref name="Amnesty International">Template:Cite web</ref> Laos has been cited as an origin country for human trafficking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A number of citizens, primarily women and girls from ethnic groups and foreigners, have been victims of sex trafficking in Laos.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Lao government sometimes controls media channels to prevent critique of its actions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lao citizens who have criticised the government have been subjected to enforced disappearances, arrests and torture.<ref name="state">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="atimes">Template:Cite news</ref>

Economy

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File:GDP per capita development in Laos.svg
GDP per capita development in Laos

The Lao economy depends on investment and trade with its neighbours, Thailand, Vietnam, and, especially in the north, China. Pakxe has experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam. In 2009, the Obama administration in the US declared Laos was no longer a communist state and lifted bans on Laotian companies receiving financing from the US Export-Import Bank.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, China was the biggest foreign investor in the Laotian economy, having invested US$5.395 billion since 1989, according to the Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment's 1989–2014 report. Thailand (invested US$4.489 billion) and Vietnam (invested US$3.108 billion) are the second and third largest investors respectively.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Update inline

Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80% of employment. 4% of the country is arable land and 0.3% used as permanent crop land,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the lowest percentage in the Greater Mekong Subregion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The irrigated areas account for 28% of the total area under cultivation which, in turn, represents 12% of all of the agricultural land in 2012.<ref>Kyophilavong, Phouphet, et al. "Effects of AFTA on poverty: Evidence from Laos." Journal of Economic Integration (2016): 353–376.</ref> Rice dominates agriculture, with about 80% of the arable land area used for growing rice.<ref>Rice: The Fabric of Life in Laos. Lao_IRRI Project</ref> Approximately 77% of Lao farm households are self-sufficient in rice.<ref>Barclay, Adam and Shrestha, Samjhana (April–June 2006) "Genuinely Lao", Rice Today.</ref>

Laos imports petroleum and gas. Metallurgy is an industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to develop the deposits of coal, gold, bauxite, tin, copper, and other metals. The mining industry of Laos has received attention with foreign direct investments. More than 540 mineral deposits of gold, copper, zinc, lead and other minerals have been identified, explored and mined.<ref name="Kyophilvong">Template:Cite web</ref> The country's water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export quantities of hydroelectric energy.<ref>Vakulchuk, R., Chan, H.Y., Kresnawan, M.R., Merdekawati, M., Overland, I., Sagbakken, H.F., Suryadi, B., Utama, N.A. and Yurnaidi, Z., 2020. Lao PDR: How to Attract More Investment in Small-Scale Renewable Energy? ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) Policy Brief Series, No 7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341793965</ref> Of the potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, around 8,000 megawatts have been committed for export to Thailand and Vietnam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2021, Laos continues to rely on fossil fuels, coal in particular, in domestic electricity production.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2018, the country ranked 139th on the Human Development Index (HDI), indicating medium development.<ref name="UNDP">Template:Cite web</ref> According to the Global Hunger Index (2018), Laos ranks as the 36th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation(s).<ref>2015 Global Hunger Index Template:Webarchive, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)</ref> In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights conducted an official visit to Laos and found that the country's top-down approach to economic growth and poverty alleviation "is all too often counterproductive, leading to impoverishment and jeopardising the rights of the poor and marginalised."<ref name="OHCHR March 2019">Template:Cite web</ref>

A product, Beerlao, was exported in 2017 to more than 20 countries worldwide. It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tourism

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File:ViewFromWatPhu.JPG
Near the sanctuary on the upper level of Vat Phou, looking back towards the Mekong River

The tourism sector has grown from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876 million in 2010,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> when tourism had been expected to rise to US$1.5857 billion by 2020. In 2010, 1 in every 11 jobs was in the tourism sector. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 16% of total exports or US$270.3 million in 2010, growing in nominal terms to US$484.2 million (12.5% of the total) in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The European Council on Trade and Tourism awarded the country the "World Best Tourist Destination" designation for 2013 for architecture and history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, tourist numbers topped 5 million, contributing over US$1 billion to the economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Lao National Tourism Administration, related government agencies and the private sector are working together to realise the vision put forth in the country's National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan. This includes decreasing the environmental and cultural impact of tourism; increasing awareness in the importance of ethnic groups and biological diversity; providing a source of income to conserve, sustain and manage the Lao protected area network and cultural heritage sites; and emphasizing the need for tourism zoning and management plans for sites that will be developed as ecotourism destinations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

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File:Nam ou 1.jpg
Rivers are a means of transport in Laos.

The mountainous geography of Laos had impeded Laos's ground transportation development throughout the 20th century. Its first railway line, a 3-km long metre-gauge railway that connects southern Vientiane to Thailand, opened in 2009. In December 2021, the 414-km long Boten–Vientiane railway that runs from the capital Vientiane to Boten at the northern border with China and was built as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative was opened.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There is external and internal telecommunication. 93% of households have a telephone, either fixed line or mobile.<ref name="LSIS-II" />Template:RP Electricity is available to 93% of the population.<ref name="LSIS-II" />Template:RP

On 3 December 2021, the 422-kilometre Boten–Vientiane railway, a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was opened.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Water supply

Template:Main According to the World Bank data conducted in 2014, Laos has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on water and sanitation regarding the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme. As of 2018, there are approximately 1.9 million of Lao's population who could not access an improved water supply and 2.4 million people without access to improved sanitation.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref>

Laos has made progress increasing access to sanitation.<ref name="ODI1">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1990 8% of the rural population had access to improved sanitation.<ref name="ODI1"/> Access rose from 10% in 1995 to 38% in 2008. Between 1995 and 2008, approximately 1,232,900 more people had access to improved sanitation in rural areas.<ref name="ODI1"/> The authorities in Laos have developed an innovative regulatory framework for public–private partnership contracts signed with enterprises, in parallel with more conventional regulation of state-owned water enterprises.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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File:Laos-demography.png
Population graph of Laos, number of inhabitants in millions between 1800 and 2021 (Our World in Data data, 2022)

The population of Laos in 2024 is estimated to be 7,953,556, with 3,966,320 males and 3,987,236 females, according to The World Factbook. This makes Laos the 103rd most populous country in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ethnicity

The people of Laos are categorised by their distribution by elevation (lowlands, midlands and upper high lands), as this somewhat correlates with ethnic groupings. More than half of the nation's population is ethnic Lao—the principal lowland inhabitants.<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks">Template:Cite web</ref> The Lao belong to the Tai linguistic group<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> who began migrating south from China in the first millennium AD.<ref>Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai Template:Webarchive. MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No 20: 47–64.</ref> 10% belong to other "lowland" groups, which together with the Lao people make up the Lao Loum (lowland people).<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks"/>

In the central and southern mountains, Mon-Khmer-speaking groups, known as Lao Theung or mid-slope Laotians, predominate. Other terms are Khmu, Khamu (Kammu) or Kha as the Lao Loum refer to them to indicate their Austroasiatic language affiliation. The latter is considered pejorative, meaning 'slave'. They were the indigenous inhabitants of northern Laos. Some Vietnamese, Laotian Chinese<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Thai minorities remain, particularly in the towns, and some left after independence in the 1940s, some of whom relocated either to Vietnam, Hong Kong, or to France. Lao Theung constitute about 30% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hill people and minority cultures of Laos such as the Hmong, Yao (Mien) (Hmong-Mien), Dao, Shan, and Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for years. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos, which include the Lua and Khmu people who are indigenous to Laos. Collectively, they are known as Lao Soung or highland Laotians. Lao Soung account for about 10% of the population.<ref name="britannica" />

Languages

The official language is Lao, a language of the Tai-Kadai language family. More than half of the population speaks Lao fluently. The remainder, particularly in rural areas, speak ethnic minority languages. The Lao alphabet, which evolved sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries, was derived from the Khmer script.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Languages like Khmu (Austroasiatic) and Hmong (Hmong-Mien) are spoken by minorities, particularly in the midland and highland areas. A number of Laotian sign languages are used in areas with higher rates of congenital deafness.<ref name=britannica />

French is used in government and commerce, and Laos is a member of the French-speaking organisation of La Francophonie. The organisation estimated in 2010 that there were 173,800 French speakers in Laos.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has become increasingly studied.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Religion

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File:Vat Nong Sikhounmuang.jpg
Wat Nong Sikhounmuang pagoda in Luang Prabang

66% of Laotians were Theravada Buddhist, 1.5% Christian, 0.1% Muslim, 0.1% Jewish, and 32.3% were other or traditional (mostly practitioners of Satsana Phi) in 2010.<ref name="globalReligion">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cia.gov" />

Health

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File:VientianeHospital.jpg
Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane

Male life expectancy at birth was at 62.6 years and female life expectancy was at 66.7 years in 2017.<ref name="cia.gov">Template:Citation</ref> Healthy life expectancy was 54 years in 2007.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org">Template:Cite web</ref> Government expenditure on health is about 4% of GDP,<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> about US$18 (PPP) in 2006.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/>

Education

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File:National University of Laos(NUOL)ມ.ຊ - panoramio.jpg
National University of Laos in Vientiane

The adult literacy rate for women in 2017 was 62.9%; for adult men, 78.1%.<ref name="LSIS-II">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:RP

In 2004, the net primary enrollment rate was 84%.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> Laos was ranked 109th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Culture

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Cuisine

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File:3 Nagas Feast.jpg
An example of Lao cuisine

Sticky rice is a staple food. There are traditions and rituals associated with rice production in environments and among ethnic groups. For example, Khammu farmers in Luang Prabang plant the rice variety khao kam in quantities near the farm house in memory of dead parents, or at the edge of the rice field to indicate that parents are alive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A dish is larb in which chopped meat is blended with toasted rice and then seasoned with herbs, fish sauce, and lime.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cinema

Template:Main The first feature-length film made after the monarchy was abolished is Gun Voice from the Plain of Jars directed by Somchith Pholsena in 1983 and its release was prevented by a censorship board.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A commercial feature-length film was Sabaidee Luang Prabang, made in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 2017 documentary feature film Blood Road was predominantly shot and produced in Laos with assistance from the Lao government. It was recognised with a News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2018.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Australian filmmaker Kim Mordount's first feature film was made in Laos and features a Laotian cast speaking their native language. Entitled The Rocket, the film appeared at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival and won three awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Examples of Lao feature films that have received international recognition include Lao New Wave Cinema's At the Horizon, directed by Anysay Keola, which was screened at the OzAsia Film Festival,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Lao Art Media's Chanthaly (Lao: ຈັນທະລີ), directed by Mattie Do, which was screened at the 2013 Fantastic Fest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2017, Laos submitted Dearest Sister (Lao: ນ້ອງຮັກ), Mattie Do's second feature film, to the 90th Academy Awards (or the Oscars) for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, marking the country's first submission for the Oscars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of 2018, Laos has three theatres dedicated to showing films.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Festivals

File:Lao New Year, dancers.jpg
Lao dancers during the New Year celebration

There are public holidays, festivities and ceremonies in Laos.

  • Hmong New Year (Nopejao)
  • Bun Pha Wet
  • Magha Puja
  • Chinese New Year
  • Boun Khoun Khao
  • Boun Pimai
  • Boun Bang Fai (Rocket festival)
  • Visakha Puja
  • Pi Mai/Songkran (Lao New Year)
  • Khao Phansaa
  • Haw Khao Padap Din
  • Awk Phansaa
  • Bun Nam
  • Lao National Day (2 December)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sport

The martial art of muay Lao, the national sport,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a form of kickboxing similar to Thailand's muay Thai, Burmese Lethwei and Cambodian Pradal Serey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

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Explanatory notes

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References

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Bibliography

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