Laos
Lao People's Democratic Republic ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxôn Lao | |
|---|---|
 Emblem
| |
| Motto: "ສັນຕິພາບ ເອກະລາດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ເອກະພາບ ວັດທະນາຖາວອນ" "Peace, independence, democracy, unity and prosperity" | |
| Anthem: Pheng Xat Lao "Hymn of the Lao People" | |
![Location of Laos (red) in ASEAN (dark grey) — [Legend]](/wiki/File:Laos_in_its_region.svg) | |
| Capital | Vientiane 17°58′N 102°36′E / 17.967°N 102.600°E |
| Official languages | Lao |
| Demonym(s) | Laotian, Lao |
| Government | Unitary
Marxist-Leninist communist and single-party state |
| Thongloun Sisoulith | |
| Sonexay Siphandone | |
| Bounthong Chitmany | |
| Pany Yathotou | |
| Saysomphone Phomvihane | |
| Independence From France | |
• Autonomy | 19 July 1949 |
• Declared | 9 Nov 1953 |
| Area | |
• Total | 236,800 km2 (91,400 sq mi) (83rd) |
• Water (%) | 2 |
| Population | |
• 2009 estimate | 6,800,000 [1] (104th) |
• 1995 census | 4,574,848 |
• Density | 26.7/km2 (69.2/sq mi) (177th) |
| 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]low · 122nd |
| Currency | Kip (LAK) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | 856 |
| ISO 3166 code | LA |
| Internet TLD | .la |
Lao People's Democratic Republic is a country in Southeast Asia.
Laos is landlocked. It is bordered by Myanmar 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 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 is the least densely populated country in Southeast Asia, with 32 people per square kilometer.[5] Trains to and from Thailand will start in July 2024; that line has an endpoint in Vientiane prefecture's Khamsavath railway station.[6]
History
[change | change source]Laos became a French colony in 1893 and became part of French Indochina. In 1949 it became independent from France, as the Kingdom of Laos. The Laotian Civil War started in 1953. In 1975 Laos became a one-party state under the leadership of the communist party.[7]
On July 20, 1954 an agreement was signed - Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Laos. That agreement ended France's rule of Laos.[8] 2 months later, the authorities of North Vietnam, established a support group for Pathet Lao, in Ban Nameo.[9]
From the middle of the 1960s, Laos was used by North Vietnam as a route to attack South Vietnam. U.S. forces dropped bombs on Laos, to try to stop the supplies coming thru the Ho Chi Minh trail.[10]
South Vietnam was taken (or fell) in April 1975. On May 14, 1975 Vang Pao escaped from Laos, thru the military base at Long Tieng.[11]
References
[change | change source]
- ↑ "Background notes – Laos". US Dept. of State. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Laos". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2009. Human development index trends: Table G" (PDF). The United Nations. January 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
- ↑ "The World Factbook: Laos". 1 March 2011. CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ↑ "Population density in South East Asia". TheGlobalEconomy.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ↑ https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2822566/bangkok-vientiane-train-service-begins-july-19. Retrieved 2024-07-03
- ↑ "Laos country profile". 7 February 2011. BBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20041031095421/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID%2Bla0004%29
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170904014932/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cstdy%3A1%3A.%2Ftemp%2F~frd_6n5k%3A%3A
- ↑ "By the mid-60s, Laos had become a theater for the U.S. to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail, largely through bombing. They basically viewed their Laotian allies as an anvil to hammer the North Vietnamese. "
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/opinion/heirs-of-the-secret-war-in-laos.html?_r=0