Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 236,800 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 5,083 km
border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (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
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use: arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: floods, droughts
Environment - current issues: unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
People Laos
Population: 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,233,659; female 1,219,872)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.47% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 53.88 years
female: 55.87 years (2002 est.)
male: 51.95 years
Total fertility rate: 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Nationality: noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian
Ethnic groups: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)
Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57%
male: 70%
female: 44% (1999 est.)
Government Laos
Country name: conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos
local short form: none
local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
Government type: Communist state
Capital: Vientiane