| Laos |
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| Background: 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. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Vientiane
geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 236,800 sq km |
| Area Land: 230,800 sq km |
| Area Water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly larger than Utah |
| Coastline: 0 km (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 |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Natural Resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Land Use Arable Land: 4.01% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.34% |
| Land Use Other: 95.65% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 1,750 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: floods, droughts |
| Environment Current Issues: unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water |
| 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 |
| Population: 6,521,998 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 19 years |
| Median Age Male: 18.7 years |
| Median Age 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.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.04 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.008 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.978 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.791 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 55.89 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 53.82 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth 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.) |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 66.4% |
| Literacy Male: 77.4% |
| Literacy Female: 55.5% (2002) |
| Administrative Divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| Legal System: based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice |
| 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: $13.43 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 7.2% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 43.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 30.6% |
| GDP Composition By Sector 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.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 6.8% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 15.7% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 3.936 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 1.4% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 98.6% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source 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.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $982.2 million (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin |
| Exports Partners: Thailand 29.4%, Vietnam 12.5%, France 6%, Germany 4.5% (2005) |
| Imports: $1.376 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports Partners: Thailand 66.8%, China 9.1%, Vietnam 5.8% (2005) |
| Debt External: $3.179 billion (2006) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $379 million (2006 est.) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 90,067 (2006) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 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 |
| Telephone System Domestic: radiotelephone communications |
| Telephone System International: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2007) |
| Radios: 730,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006) |
| Televisions: 52,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 1 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 25,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
Waterways: 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2005) |
| Airports: 44 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 0.5% (2006) |
| 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 |
| IllicitDrugs: 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 |