Laos
Lao People's Democratic RepublicSathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
Communist stateIndependence 19 July 1949 (from France)
Laos as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 118 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Laos was 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. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997.
Geography
Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
18 fieldsLand useshare of 236,800 sq km
Irrigated land
1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Environment - current issues
- unexploded ordnance;
- deforestation;
- soil erosion;
- most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, 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 River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)
Male · female
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.01 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.98 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.82 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Government
Communist state; President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001); Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001)
18 fieldsNational Assembly, 109 seats, elected 24 February 2002one dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- conventional short form:
- Laos
- local long form:
- Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
- local short form:
- none
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
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly
- elections:
- president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term;
- election last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007);
- prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term
- election results:
- KHAMTAI Siphadon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)
- elections:
- last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109
Judicial branch
People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee)
Political parties and leaders
Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed
Political pressure groups and leaders
noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
International organization participation
ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
- chancery:
- 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 332-6416
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 332-4923
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH
- embassy:
- 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane
- mailing address:
- American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546
- telephone:
- [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585
- FAX:
- [856] (21) 212584
Flag description
three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
Economy
The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986.
37 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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% in 1988-2004 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. The government has sponsored major improvements in the road system. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas.
Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on their exports; this may help spur growth.
Agriculture - products
sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
Industries
tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism
Exchange rates
kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- service to general public is poor but improving with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001;
- the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
- domestic:
- radiotelephone communications
- international:
- country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Transportation
7 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Waterways
4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003)
Military
Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
8 fieldsMilitary service age and obligation
15 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004)
Military - note
- Laos is one of the world's least developed countries;
- the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced;
- there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue;
- the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu;
- Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while ongoing disputes over squatters and boundary encroachment by Thailand including Mekong River islets persist;
- in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces;
- concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Illicit drugs
- estimated cultivation in 2004 - 10,000 hectares, a 45% decrease from 2003;
- estimated potential production in 2004 - 49 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003 (2005)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Laos.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/laos/2005.