]! ^! Laos was 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. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into 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 `U 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 ^. `' 3.8% `( 0.35% `) 95.85% (2001) ^/ 1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 floods, droughts ^1 unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection `L 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 6,217,141 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 41.6% (male 1,300,094/female 1,289,227) `+ 55.2% (male 1,693,494/female 1,737,196) `, 3.2% (male 88,744/female 108,386) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.74 years `- 18.42 years `. 19.08 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.42% (2005 est.) ^7 35.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.04 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.98 male(s)/female `, 0.82 male(s)/female `1 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births `- 95.04 deaths/1,000 live births `. 75.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 55.08 years `- 53.07 years `. 57.17 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 1,700 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Lao(s) or Laotian(s) `3 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 `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 66.4% `- 77.4% `. 55.5% (2002) 
]$ ^F `4 Lao People's Democratic Republic `5 Laos `V Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao `W none ^H Communist state ^I Vientiane ^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 `6 President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001) `7 Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly `9 president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term `: KHAMTAI Siphadon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% ^Q unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election) `9 last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109 ^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 [KHAMTAI Siphadon, party president]; other parties proscribed ^T noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 ^U ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) ^V `N Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay `O 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 332-6416 `Q [1] (202) 332-4923 ^W `N Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH `Z 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane `[ American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 `P [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 `Q [856] (21) 212584 ^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% in 1988-2004 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. The government has sponsored major improvements in the road system. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to face lower tariffs on their exports; this may help spur growth. ^Z $11.28 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 6% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) ^] `; 49.5% `< 27.5% `= 23% (2004 est.) ^^ 2.6 million (2001 est.) ^_ agriculture 80% (1997 est.) ^` 5.7% (1997 est.) ^a 40% (2002 est.) _! `> 3.2% `? 30.6% (1997) _d 37 (1997) _" 12.3% (2004 est.) _# `@ $284.3 million `A $416.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry _% tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism _& 9.7% (2001 est.) _' 3.56 billion kWh (2002) _( 3.036 billion kWh (2002) _) 400 million kWh (2002) _* 125 million kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 2,750 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-80.76 million (2004 est.) _/ $365.5 million (2004 est.) _0 garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin _1 Thailand 19.3%, Vietnam 13.4%, France 8%, Germany 5.3%, UK 5% (2004) _2 $579.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods _4 Thailand 60.5%, China 10.3%, Vietnam 7.1%, Singapore 4% (2004) _Y $193.1 million (2004 est.) _5 $2.49 billion (2001) _6 $243 million (2001 est.) _7 kip (LAK) _8 kips per US dollar - 10,820 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.6 (2001), 7,887.6 (2000) _9 1 October - 30 September 
]& _: 61,900 (2002) _; 55,200 (2002) _< `B service to general public is poor but improving with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas `C radiotelephone communications `D country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) _= AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) _> 4 (1999) _? .la _@ 937 (2003) _A 15,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 21,716 km `E 9,664 km `F 12,052 km (1999 est.) _b 4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003) _[ refined products 540 km (2004) _K `! 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2005) _D 44 (2004 est.) _E `! 9 `G 1 `^ 5 `_ 3 (2004 est.) _L `! 35 `^ 1 `_ 13 `T 21 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force _M 15 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004) _] `i 1,500,625 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: `i 954,816 (2005 est.) _^ `` 73,167 (2005 est.) _N $10.7 million (2004) _O 0.5% (2004) _G 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) 
]) _H Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while ongoing disputes over squatters and boundary encroachment by Thailand including Mekong River islets persist; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels _I estimated cultivation in 2004 - 10,000 hectares, a 45% decrease from 2003; estimated potential production in 2004 - 49 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003 (2005) 