Laos

Communist stateIndependence 19 July 1949 (from France)

Laos as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalVientiane

Area236,800 km2

Populationas each edition published it

4.02 million July 1990 · 7.95m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.86% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 51.18 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

5.1 children per woman 1990 · 2.19 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

126 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 34.2 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $200 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 4% in 1993

Geography

12 fields

Land useshare of 236,800 km2

arable land 4%meadows and pastures 3%forest and woodland 58%other 35%NEGL% permanent crops; includes 1% irrigated

Total area

236,800km2

land area: 230,800 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Land boundaries

5,083km total

Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

Climate

tropical monsoon;
rainy season (May to November);
dry season (December to April)

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus

Natural resources

timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Environment

deforestation;
soil erosion;
subject to floods

People

14 fields

Population

4,023,726

(July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

37Death

15Net migration

Ethnic divisions

Lao 50%Phoutheung (Kha) 15%tribal Thai 20%Meo 15%Hmong; Yao; and other

Religion

Buddhist 85%animist and other 15%

Literacy

85%

Nationality

noun--Lao (sing., Lao or Laotian); adjective--Lao or Laotian

Labor force

1-1.5 million; 85-90% in agriculture (est.)

Organized labor

Lao Federation of Trade Unions is subordinate to the Communist party

Government

Communist state

17 fields

Administrative divisions

16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural);
Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamsai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louang Namtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Saravan, Savannakhet, Sekong, Vientiane, Vientiane*, Xaignabouri, Xiangkhoang

Constitution

draft constitution under discussion since 1976

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday

National Day (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic), 2 December (1975)

Executive branch

president, chairman and five vice chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Judicial branch

Central Supreme Court Chief of State--Acting President PHOUMI VONGVICHIT (since 29 October 1986);
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers General KAYSONE PHOMVIHAN (since 2 December 1975)

Political parties and leaders

Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Kaysone Phomvihan, party chairman;
includes Lao Patriotic Front and Alliance Committee of Patriotic Neutralist Forces;
other parties moribund

Suffrage

universal at age 18 Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 26 March 1989 (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(79 total) number of seats by party NA

Other political or pressure groups

non-Communist political groups moribund; most leaders have fled the country

Member of

ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mekong Committee, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

First Secretary, Charge d'Affaires ad interim DONE SOMVORACHIT;
Chancery at 2222 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-6416 or 6417;
US--Charge d'Affaires Charles B. SALMON;
Embassy at Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane (mailing address is B. P. 114, Vientiane, or Box V, APO San Francisco 96346);
telephone 2220, 2357, 2384

Flag

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.

17 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$585million

per capita $150; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

35%

(1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

15%

(1989 est.)

External debt

$964million

(1989 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$71 millionExpenditures

$198 million

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $132 million (1988 est.)

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. Recently, 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 CEMA, IMF, and other international sources.

Exports

$57.5 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities-- electricity, wood products, coffee, tin;
partners--Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, USSR, US

Imports

$219 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures;
partners--Thailand, USSR, Japan, France, Vietnam

Industrial production

growth rate 8% (1989 est.)

Electricity

176,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 225 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

tin mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing

Agriculture

accounts for 60% of GDP and employs most of the work force;
subsistence farming predominates;
normally self-sufficient;
principal crops--rice (80% of cultivated land), potatoes, vegetables, coffee, sugarcane, cotton

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis and opium poppy for the international drug trade;
production of cannabis increased in 1989;
marijuana and heroin are shipped to Western countries, including the US

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $468 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $895 million

Currency

new kip (plural--kips); 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Exchange rates

new kips (NK) per US$1--700 (December 1989), 725 (1989), 350 (1988), 200 (1987), 108 (1986), 95 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Communications

6 fields

Airports, 64 total, 50 usable

permanent-surface runways

9runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

2runways 1,220-2,439 m

Highways

about 27,527 km total;
1,856 km bituminous or bituminous treated;
7,451 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth;
18,220 km unimproved earth and often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September