Laos
| Lao People's Democratic Republic
Sathalanalat Paxathipatai
Paxaxon Lao |
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| Motto: "ສັນຕິພາບ ເອກະລາດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ເອກະພາບ ວັດທະນາຖາວອນ" "Peace, independence, democracy, unity and prosperity" |
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| Anthem: Pheng Xat Lao "Hymn of the Lao People" |
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![Location of Laos (green)in ASEAN (dark grey) — [Legend]](/wiki/File:Laos_in_its_region.svg) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Vientiane 17°58′N 102°36′E / 17.967°N 102.6°E |
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| Official language(s) | Lao | |||||
| Official scripts | Lao script | |||||
| Demonym | Laotian, Lao | |||||
| Government | Unitary communist and single-party state | |||||
| - | President | Choummaly Sayasone | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Thongsing Thammavong | ||||
| - | President of Lao National Assembly | Pany Yathotu | ||||
| - | President of LFNC | Sisavath Keobounphanh | ||||
| - | LPRP General Secretary | Choummaly Sayasone | ||||
| Independence | From France | |||||
| - | Autonomy | 19 July 1949 | ||||
| - | Declared | 9 Nov 1953 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 236,800 km2 (83rd) 91,428.991 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 2 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2009 estimate | 6,800,000 [1] (104th) | ||||
| - | 1995 census | 4,574,848 | ||||
| - | Density | 26.7/km2 (177th) 69.2/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $15.693 billion[2] (130th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $2,435[2] (48th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $6.341 billion[2] (137th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $984[2] (147th) | ||||
| Gini (2008) | 34.6 (medium) | |||||
| HDI (2010) |  0.497[3] (medium) (122nd) |
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| Currency | Kip (LAK) |
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| Time zone | (UTC+7) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .la | |||||
| Calling code | 856 | |||||
Lao People's Democratic Republic, or Laos for short, is a country in southeast Asia. The capital of Laos is Vientiane.
Laos is landlocked (it does not have a coast on a sea or ocean). It is bordered by Myanmar (used to be known in English as "Burma") and by China to the northwest, by Vietnam to the east, by Cambodia to the south, and by Thailand to the west. The Mekong river forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand. Boats from Laos cannot get to the ocean using the Mekong because of rapids and waterfalls in the south of the country.[4]
Laos had a long history before becoming a French colony. Fa Ngum created the first unifed Lao Kingdom. In 1949 it became independent from France, as the Kingdom of Laos. Later there was a civil war, and in 1975 it became a republic under control of the communist party.[5]
The official language is Lao, a language belonging to the Tai language group. 98% of Lao people believe in Buddhism. The main crop in Laos is rice.
Provinces [change]
Laos is divided in 16 provinces and one prefecture.
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Other pages [change]
References [change]
- ↑ "Background notes – Laos". US Dept. of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Laos". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=544&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=58&pr.y=5. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2009. Human development index trends: Table G". The United Nations. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
- ↑ "The World Factbook: Laos". 1 March 2011. CIA World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/la.html. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ↑ "Laos country profile". 7 February 2011. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1154621.stm. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
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