May 24, 2012, 1:11 pm
Source: CIA World Factbook
Content Cover Image

Mekong River at Luang Prabang. Source: Allie Caulfield

Laos is a landlocked nation of nearly six-and-a-half million people in southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam. Most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested. The Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand.

Its major environmental issues include:

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

Laos is susceptible to floods and droughts.







Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.

Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu.

Laos talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River. There is concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels. Cambodia is concerned about Laos' extensive upstream dam construction.


Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam

Geographic Coordinates: 18 00 N, 105 00 E

Area: 236,800 sq km(land: 230,800 sq km; water: 6,000 sq km)

Land Boundaries: 5,083 km (Myanmar (Burma) 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km)

Natural Hazards: floods, droughts

Terrain:  mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus. The highest point is Phu Bia (2,817 m) and the lowest point is the Mekong River (70 m).



Topology of Laos. Source: Wikimedia Commons.


Ecology and Biodiversity


  1. Northern Indochina subtropical forests
  2. Northern Thailand-Laos moist deciduous forests
  3. Luang Prabang montane rain forests
  4. Northern Khorat Plateau moist deciduous forests
  5. Northern Annamites rain forests
  6. Central Indochina dry forests
  7. Southern Annamites montane rain forests
  8. Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests

See also:

People and Society

Population: 6,586,266 (July 2012 est.)

Laos' population is dispersed unevenly across the country. Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. Vientiane prefecture, the capital and largest city, is estimated to haveabout 853,000 residents in 2012. The country's population density was 27/sq. km.


Source: World Wildlife Fund




Pha That Luang, the Great Stupa in Vientiane, is considered a national symbol of Laos. It was built in the 16th century on the ruins of a 13th century Khmer temple, which in turn was built on the ruins of a 3rd century Indian temple built by Buddhist missionaries. The stupa is said to contain a relic of the Buddha.


Age Structure:


Population Growth Rate: 1.655% (2012 est.)

Birthrate: 25.68 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death Rate: 7.99 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

Net Migration Rate: -1.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 62.77 years 

male: 60.85 years
female: 64.76 years (2012 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 3.06 children born/woman (2012 est.)


Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write)73% (2005 Census)

Urbanization: 33% of total population (2010) growing at an annual rate of change of 4.9% (2010-15 est.)










The government that assumed power in December 1975 aligned itself with Vietnam and the Soviet bloc and adopted a hostile posture toward the West. In ensuing decades, Laos maintained close ties with the former Soviet Union and its eastern bloc allies, and depended heavily on the Soviet Union for most of its foreign assistance. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Laos has sought to improve relations with its regional neighbors. Laos was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997 and applied to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998. The government hopes to accede to the WTO by 2013. Currently, Laos' foreign policy concentrates on its immediate neighbors. Laos generally maintains a low profile in the larger international arena, although it has been playing an increasing role in activities of the Non-Aligned Movement and hosted the First States Party of the Cluster Munitions Convention in 2010. In 2011, Laos accepted the statutes of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Over time, the Lao Government closed the re-education camps and released most political prisoners. By the end of 1999, more than 28,900 Hmong and lowland Lao had voluntarily repatriated to Laos--3,500 from China and the rest from Thailand. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) monitored returnees for a number of years and reported no evidence of systemic persecution or discrimination against returnees per se. UNHCR closed its Laos office at the end of 2001. Today, Laos is a country in transition and has set a goal of graduating from Least Developed Country status by 2020. While the Lao political system remains firmly in the control of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), the forces of globalization and regionalization continue to drive the Lao government to open the economy to market forces. Laos increasingly shows a willingness to engage in international fora on governance issues as well.



Government Type: Communist state


Laos adopted its Constitution in 1991, amending it most recently in 2003. The National Assembly, which has added seats at every election, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains the authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in April 2011, when the National Assembly was expanded to 132 members. Laos has enacted a number of new laws in recent years, but the country is still governed largely through the issuance of decrees. Many new laws are being passed at this writing. They are designed to bring Laos into compliance with WTO requirements as Laos aspires to become a member in the near future.

A small-scale insurgency against the regime that continued since the end of the Indochina conflict has essentially ended. Past incidents included attacks in 2003 and 2004 against various types of land transportation and public markets. There were reports of clashes in 2005 and 2007. In late 2006 and 2007, more than 1,000 former fighters and family members were estimated to have surrendered to Lao authorities, and there were no credible reports of clashes in 2010 or 2011. The United States opposes any acts of violence against the Lao Government.

Capital: Vientiane - 799,000 (2009)

Administrative divisions:


Provinces (except 15 - Capital City):

  1. Attapu
  2. Bokeo
  3. Bolikhamxai
  4. Champasak
  5. Houaphan
  6. Khammouan
  7. Louangnamtha
  8. Louangphrabang
  9. Oudomxai
  10. Phongsali
  11. Xaignabouli
  12. Salavan
  13. Savannakhet
  14. Xekong
  15. Viangchan (Vientiane)*
  16. Viangchan
  17. Xiangkhoang

Independence Date: 19 July 1949 (from France)

Legal System: civil law system similar in form to the French system. Laos has not submitted an International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdictiondeclaration; and, is a non-party state to the International criminal court (ICCt).

Source: Wikimedia Commons

International Environmental Agreements

Laos is party to international agrements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, and Ozone Layer Protection.


Total Renewable Water Resources: 333.6 cu km (2003)

Freshwater Withdrawal3 cu km/yr (4% domestic, 6% industrial, 90% agricultural)

Per Capita Freshwater Withdrawal: 507 cu m/yr (2000)

Access to improved drinking water sources: 57% of population

Access to improved sanitation facilities: 53% of population

See: Water profile of Laos



Irrigated Land: 3,000 sq km (2008)


Natural Resources:  timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Land Use:

arable land: 4.01%
permanent crops: 0.34%
other: 95.65% (2005)


Laos is a landlocked country with an inadequate infrastructure and underdeveloped human resources. The country's per capita income in 2011 was $1010. Agriculture, mostly subsistence rice farming, dominates the economy, employing an estimated 75% of the population and producing 33% of GDP. Laos to relies heavily on foreign assistance and concessional loans as investment sources for economic development. In 2010, donor-funded programs accounted for approximately 8.5% of GDP and 90% of the government’s capital budget. In 2010, the country's foreign debt was estimated at $5.8 billion.

Following its accession to power in 1975, the communist government imposed a harsh, Soviet-style command economy system until 1986, when the government announced its "new economic mechanism" (NEM). Initially small in scale, the NEM was expanded to include a range of reforms designed to create conditions conducive to private sector activity. Prices set by market forces replaced government-determined prices. Farmers were permitted to own land and sell crops on the open market. State firms were granted increased decision-making authority and lost most of their subsidies and pricing advantages. The government set the exchange rate close to real market levels, lifted trade barriers, replaced import barriers with tariffs, and gave private sector firms direct access to imports and credit. These economic reforms led to increased availability of goods and economic growth that has continued to the present day.


The economy of Laos is essentially a free market system with active central planning by the government, similar to the Chinese and Vietnamese models. However, unlike China or Vietnam, Laos has negligible industrial capacity, an undeveloped and underproductive system of agriculture, and increasingly relies on its rich natural resources to earn much needed-foreign reserves. In particular, the hydropower, mining, precious metals, and timber sectors have attracted major investment from Thailand, Vietnam, and in the last decade, China. Vietnam is now the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Laos.

Electricity is available in urban areas and in many rural districts.

Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice cultivation in lowland areas, accounts for about 30% of GDP and 75% of total employment.

The government in FY09/10 received $586 million from international donors. Economic growth has reduced official poverty rates from 46% in 1992 to 26% in 2010. The economy has benefited from high foreign investment in hydropower, mining, and construction.

Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US in 2004, and is taking steps required to join the World Trade Organization, such as reforming import licensing. Related trade policy reforms will improve the business environment.


The government appears committed to raising the country's profile among investors. The World Bank has declared that Laos's goal of graduating from the UN Development Program's list of least-developed countries by 2020 is achievable.


International indices rate Laos poorly on transparency and ease of doing business. Endemic corruption and poorly developed commercial law continue to hamper economic development. Laos has begun the World Trade Organization accession process, with the intention of joining that organization as soon as possible.

GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $17.44 billion (2011 est.)

GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $7.9 billion (2011 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $2,700 (2011 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 27.8%
industry: 34.8%
services: 37.4% (2011 est.)


Currency: Kips (LAK)




Agency, C., Fund, W., & Department, U. (2012). Laos. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/172207


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