]! ^! Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came 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 and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997. 
]" ^" Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam ^# 18 00 N, 105 00 E ^$ Southeast Asia ^% `! 236,800 sq km `" 230,800 sq km `# 6,000 sq km ^& slightly larger than Utah ^' `! 5,083 km `Y Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) ^+ mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus ^, `% Mekong River 70 m `& Phou Bia 2,817 m ^- timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones ^. `' 4.01% `( 0.34% `) 95.65% (2005) ^/ 1,750 sq km (2003) ^0 floods, droughts ^1 unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand 
]# ^3 6,521,998 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252) `, 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) `- 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 19 years `. 18.7 years `/ 19.3 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.37% (2007 est.) ^7 34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.04 male(s)/female `1 1.008 male(s)/female `, 0.978 male(s)/female `- 0.791 male(s)/female `2 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births `. 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 55.89 years `. 53.82 years `/ 58.04 years (2007 est.) ^= 4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 1,700 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Lao(s) or Laotian(s) `4 Lao or Laotian ^B Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% ^C Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) ^D Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 66.4% `. 77.4% `/ 55.5% (2002) 
]$ ^F `6 Lao People's Democratic Republic `7 Laos `Z Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao `[ none ^H Communist state ^I `8 Vientiane `9 17 58 N, 102 36 E `: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 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 ^K 19 July 1949 (from France) ^L Republic Day, 2 December (1975) ^M promulgated 14 August 1991 ^N based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) `< Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) `= Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly `> president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term `? CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97% ^Q unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `> last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2 ^R 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) ^S Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed ^T noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 ^U ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `R Ambassador PHIANE Philakone `S 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 332-6416 `U [1] (202) 332-4923 ^W `R Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH `_ 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane `` American Embassy Vientiane, Box V, APO AP 96546 `T [856] 21-26 7000 `U [856] 21-26 7074 ^X three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band 
]% ^Y 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% per year in 1988-2006 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, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system. ^Z $13.43 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $2.768 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 7.2% (2006 est.) ^] $2,100 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 43.4% `A 30.6% `B 26% (2006 est.) ^_ 2.1 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 80% industry and services: 20% (2005 est.) ^a 2.4% (2005 est.) _! 30.7% (2005 est.) _" `C 3.2% `D 30.6% (1997) _d 37 (1997) _# 6.8% (2006 est.) _$ `E $400 million `F $537.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _& sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry _' copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement _( 15.7% (2006 est.) _) 3.936 billion kWh (2004) _* 3.26 billion kWh (2004) _+ 600 million kWh (2004) _, 200 million kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 3,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-504.2 million (2006 est.) _3 $982.2 million (2006 est.) _4 garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin _5 Thailand 29.4%, Vietnam 12.5%, France 6%, Germany 4.5% (2005) _6 $1.376 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods _8 Thailand 66.8%, China 9.1%, Vietnam 5.8% (2005) _[ $316.9 million (2006 est.) _9 $3.179 billion (2006) _: $379 million (2006 est.) _; kip (LAK) _< kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002) _= 1 October - 30 September 
]& _> 90,067 (2006) _? 520,546 (2006) _@ `G service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas `H radiotelephone communications `I country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) _A AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2007) _B 7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006) _C .la _D 1,108 (2006) _E 25,000 (2005) 
]' _F 44 (2006) _G `! 9 `J 2 `b 4 `c 3 (2006) _R `! 35 `b 1 `c 13 `W 21 (2006) _^ refined products 540 km (2006) _H `! 31,210 km `K 4,494 km `L 26,716 km (2003) _b 4,600 km `* primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2005) _S `! 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2006) 
]( _J Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force _T 15 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004) _K `w 1,500,625 `y 1,521,116 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: `w 954,816 `y 1,006,082 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 73,167 `y 71,432 (2005 est.) _U 0.6% (2006 est.) _M 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) 
]) _N Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels __ `f Laos is a source country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; a significant number are economic migrants who are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or conditions of forced or bonded labor in Thailand; to a lesser extent, Laos is a transit and destination country for women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation including a small number of victims from China and Vietnam trafficked to work as street vendors and for sexual exploitation in prostitution `g Tier 3 - Laos does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so _O estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem 