Laos Information

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About Laos

Geography

Laos is located in south-east Asia between Vietnam and Thailand. The country occupies a total area of 236,800 sq km of which 230,800 sq km is on land. It is landlocked by a 5,083 km long boundary. A map of Laos is available.

Laos has a tropical monsoon climate - rainy season from May to November and dry season from December to April. The terrain is mostly rugged mountains with some plains and plateaus. Natural resources include timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold and gemstones.

People

Laos has a total population of 4,569,327 (July 1993 est.). Nationals of Laos are known as Lao(s) or Laotian(s). The main ethnic groups are Lao (50%), tribal Thai (20%) and Phoutheung (15%). The predominant religion is Buddhist (85%). Laos is the official language; English and French are also spoken.

Government

The country is known officially as Lao People's Democratic Republic and in short, Laos. Laos is a communist state with the capital in Vientiane. Independence was gained on 19 July 1949 from France. The national holiday is on 2 December (1975).

The Laos flag consists of three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band.

Economy

One of the world's poorest nations, Laos has had a Communist centrally planned economy with government ownership and control of productive enterprises of any size. In recent years, however, the government has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise. Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure; that is, it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, limited external and internal telecommunications, and electricity available in only a limited area. Subsistence agriculture is the main occupation, accounting for over 60% of GDP and providing about 85-90% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend for its survival on foreign aid from the IMF and other international sources; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has been cut sharply.

Communications

Laos has 27,527 km of highways and 4,587 km of inland waterways. There are 41 usable (small) airports and no sea ports (no access to the sea).

Telecommunications service to general public is practically non-existant. Radio communications network provides generally erratic service to government users