Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, 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 Vientiane''). The special administrative zone (ເຂດພິເສດ, ''khet phiset''),
Xaisomboun, created in 1994, was dissolved on 13 January 2006. In 2013, parts of the former special administrative zone was reestablished as
Xaisomboun province.
Provinces and prefectures of Laos
Population
The population of each province in 2015 is given in the census data.
History
In 1989 Vientiane prefecture was split from Vientiane province and the capital of Vientiane province moved from Vientiane to Muang Phôn-Hông. In 1994 Xaisômboun khetphiset (special region) was formed from parts of the Bolikhamxai, Vientiane, and Xiangkhoang provinces. In 2006 Xaisomboun special region was dissolved and the Longsan, Xaysomboun, Phun, and Hom districts added to Vientiane province, while Thathon district was transferred to Xiengkhuang province.
Further divisions
The provinces are then subdivided into
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
s (''muang'') and villages (''baan'').
Geography
The provinces are grouped geographically into 3 strata, North (from Phongsaly to Saiyabouly, Luang Prabang and Xiengkhuang), Central (Vientiane and Bolikhamxay) and South (from Khammuane to Champasack).
See also
*
List of provinces of Laos by Human Development Index
This is a list of provinces of Laos by Human Development Index as of 2019.
References
{{Subnational entities by Human Development Index
Laos
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite ...
*
ISO 3166-2:LA
References
External links
CityMayors.com article
Subdivisions of Laos
Laos, provinces
Laos 1
Provinces, Laos
Laos geography-related lists
{{Laos-geo-stub