The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Laos: Laos is a landlocked,

sovereign nation A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. Laos borders

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

(

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

) and China to the northwest,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to the east,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

to the south, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of ''

Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...

'' or "Land of a Million Elephants", which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. After a period as a French protectorate, it gained independence in 1949. A long

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

ended officially when the communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975, but strife between competing between factions continued for several years. Private enterprise has increased since the late-1990s when economic reforms, including rapid business licensing, were introduced. Laos is still ranked low for economic and political freedom. The

economy of Laos The economy of Laos is a lower-middle income developing economy. Being one of the socialist states (along with China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea), the Lao economic model resembles the Chinese socialist market and/or Vietnamese socialist-o ...

grew at 6.89% in 2017,

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

fastest in the world. Eighty percent of the employed practice subsistence agriculture. The country's ethnic make-up is diverse, with around 70% belonging to the largest ethnic group, the Lao.

General reference

Pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...

: * Common English country name: Laos * Official English country name: The Lao People's Democratic Republic *

Adjectives In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the mai ...

: Lao, Laotian * Demonym(s): *

Etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

: Name of Laos * International rankings of Laos *

ISO country codes ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...

: LA, LAO, 418 *

ISO region codes ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The ...

: See ISO 3166-2:LA *

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all ...

.la .la is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Laos. Although the .la domain is officially assigned to the country of Laos, subdomains have been delegated to some organizations outside Laos. History The LA Names Corporation, b ...

Geography of Laos

Geography of Laos * Laos is: a

landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

* Location: ** Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere **

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

***

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

****

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

*****

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

Time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...

: ICT ** Extreme points of Laos *** High: Phou Bia *** Low:

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

** Land boundaries: 5,083 km :: 2,130 km :: 1,754 km :: 541 km :: 423 km :: 235 km :* Coastline: ''none'' * Population of Laos: 7,275,560 (2020) (105th most populous country) * * Area of Laos: 230,800 km² (89,112 mi²) * Atlas of Laos

Environment of Laos

* Climate of Laos *

Protected areas of Laos Protected areas in Laos include: * Bokeo Nature Reserve * Buddha Park * Dong Ampham National Biodiversity Conservation Area, 20,000 ha at lat. -4.60886 long. 35.780714 * Dong Hua Sao National Biodiversity Conservation Area, 110,000 ha at lat ...

* Wildlife of Laos ** Fauna of Laos ***

Birds of Laos Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

***

Mammals of Laos This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Laos. Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates & cetaceans) Order: Carnivora (carnivorans) Order: Chiroptera (bats) Order: Eulipotyphla (Hedgehogs, shrews, moles and relatives) ...

Natural geographic features of Laos

Rivers of Laos A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

* World Heritage Sites in Laos: None

Regions of Laos

Ecoregions of Laos

List of ecoregions in Laos

Administrative divisions of Laos

Administrative divisions of Laos *

Provinces of Laos Laos, officially the ''Lao People's Democratic Republic'', is divided into 17 provinces ( Lao ແຂວງ, , , or ) and one prefecture, the Vientiane capital city municipality (ນະຄອນຫຼວງ, nakhon louang, or ''Na Kone Luang Vie ...

Districts of Laos Laos is divided into 17 provinces ( Lao: ແຂວງ, ''khoueng'') and 1 prefecture (''kampheng nakhon''), or capital city municipality (ນະຄອນຫລວງ, '' nakhon luang''). Furthermore, 1 so-called special administrative zone (ເ� ...

= Provinces of Laos

= Districts of Laos

= Municipalities of Laos

= * Capital of Laos:

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

* Cities of Laos

Demography of Laos

Demographics of Laos This is a demographics, demography of the population of Laos including population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Laos' popul ...

Government and politics of Laos

Politics of Laos The politics of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (commonly known as Laos) takes place in the framework of a one-party parliamentary socialist republic. The only legal political party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of ...

* Form of government: * Capital of Laos:

* Elections in Laos *

Political parties in Laos Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

Branches of the government of Laos

Government of Laos The politics of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (commonly known as Laos) takes place in the framework of a one-party parliamentary socialist republic. The only legal political party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of ...

Executive branch of the government of Laos

Head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

: President of Laos, *

Head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

Prime Minister of Laos The Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, formerly the chairman of the Council of Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the head of government of Laos. The highest position in the Politics of Laos, government ...

Legislative branch of the government of Laos

* Parliament of Laos ( bicameral) **

Upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

: Senate of Laos ** Lower house: House of Commons of Laos

Judicial branch of the government of Laos

Court system of Laos

Foreign relations of Laos

Foreign relations of Laos * Diplomatic missions in Laos *

Diplomatic missions of Laos This is a list of diplomatic missions of Laos. After gaining independence in 1950 the secluded landlocked country of Laos began establishing diplomatic relations with other countries in the world. It still maintains ties with traditionally Easte ...

* Laos-Vietnam relations

International organization membership

The Lao People's Democratic Republic is a member of: *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

(ADB) *

Asia-Pacific Telecommunity The Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) was founded on the joint initiatives of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The APT was established by ...

(APT) *

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

(ASEAN) * Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) *

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

(CP) *

East Asia Summit The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Oceanian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. Membership expanded to 18 countrie ...

(EAS) *

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) * Group of 77 (G77) * International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) *

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

(ICAO) *

International Criminal Police Organization The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

(Interpol) * International Development Association (IDA) * International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) *

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of ...

(IFC) * International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF) *

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) *

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Art ...

(ISO) (subscriber) * International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) *

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

(ITU) * Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA) * Nonaligned Movement (NAM) *''

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

'' (OIF) *

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(OPCW) *

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...

(PCA) *

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

(UN) *

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

(UNCTAD) *

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNESCO) *

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

(UNIDO) *

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...

(UPU) *

World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics su ...

(WCO) *

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation o ...

(WFTU) *

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(WHO) *

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishi ...

(WIPO) *

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Intern ...

(WMO) *

World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...

(UNWTO) *

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

(WTO) (observer)

Law and order in Laos

Law of Laos * Constitution of Laos *

Crime in Laos Crime is present in various forms in Laos. By location Vang Vieng The US State Department warns that Vang Vieng is a location in Laos of high risk for tourists in relation to risks of rape and robbery. Many restaurants in the Vang Vieng area ...

* Human rights in Laos **

LGBT rights in Laos Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Laos go unreported and unnoticed. While homosexuality is legal in Laos, it is very difficult to assess the current state of acceptance and violence that LGBT people face because of governm ...

** Freedom of religion in Laos *

Law enforcement in Laos The Ministry of Public Security (Lao language: ກະຊວງປ້ອງກັນຄວາມສະຫງົບ) is the ministry of the interior of Laos. Structure and organization The Ministry of Public Security comprizes several "branches o ...

Military of Laos

Military of Laos * Command ** Commander-in-chief: * Forces ** Army of Laos **

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

of Laos: None *

Military history of Laos The Military history of Laos has been dominated by struggles against stronger neighbours, primarily Thailand and Vietnam, from at least the 18th century. Early history Historically, Laos was subject to the will of its Southeast Asia, stronger neigh ...

Local government in Laos

History of Laos

History of Laos Evidence for modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, that constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians� ...

*Timeline of the history of Laos *Current events of Laos *

Culture of Laos

Culture of Laos Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2 (91,400 sq miles), yielding one of th ...

* Cuisine of Laos * Festivals in Laos *

Languages of Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

* List of museums in Laos * National symbols of Laos ** Coat of arms of Laos **

Flag of Laos The flag of Laos ( Lao: ທຸງຊາດລາວ; ''thungsad Lāo'') consists of three horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of ...

** National anthem of Laos *

Lao people The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the eponymous language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere ...

* Prostitution in Laos * Public holidays in Laos *

Religion in Laos Theravada Buddhism is the largest religion in Laos. It is practiced by 66% of the population. Almost all ethnic or "lowland" Lao (Lao Loum and Lao Lom) are followers of Theravada Buddhism; however, they constitute only 40-50% of the population. ...

Buddhism in Laos Theravada Buddhism is the largest religion in Laos, which is practiced by 66% of the population. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of ethnic Lao culture. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animis ...

** Christianity in Laos **

Hinduism in Laos Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from India, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscript ...

** Islam in Laos * World Heritage Sites in Laos: None

Art in Laos

Literature of Laos The people of Laos have a rich literary tradition dating back at least six hundred years, with the oral and storytelling traditions of its peoples dating back much earlier. Lao literature refers to the written productions of Laotian peoples, its ém ...

Music of Laos The music of Laos includes the music of the Lao people, a Tai ethnic group, and other ethnic groups living in Laos. The traditional music of Laos has similarities with the traditional music of Thailand and Cambodia, including the names of the instr ...

* Theatre in Laos

Sports in Laos

Sports in Laos * Football in Laos * Laos at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Laos

Economy of Laos The economy of Laos is a lower-middle income developing economy. Being one of the socialist states (along with China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea), the Lao economic model resembles the Chinese socialist market and/or Vietnamese socialist-o ...

* Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 141st (one hundred and forty first) * Agriculture in Laos * Communications in Laos ** Internet in Laos *

Companies of Laos A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

* Currency of Laos: Kip ** ISO 4217: LAK * Energy in Laos * Tourism in Laos * Transport in Laos **

Airports in Laos This is a list of airports in Laos (the Lao People's Democratic Republic), sorted by location. __TOC__ Airports Airport name written in bold indicates availability of commercial flights. See also * Transport in Laos * List of airports by ...

Rail transport in Laos Laos has of standard gauge railways, primarily consisting of the Boten–Vientiane railway, which opened in December 2021. It also has a metre gauge railway at Thanaleng terminus connected to Thailand's railway system. History Due to the ...