View source for Laos

{{Short description|Country in Southeast Asia}}
{{About|the country||Laos (disambiguation)|and|Lao (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Lao People's Democratic Republic
| common_name            = Laos
| native_name            = {{ubl|{{native name|lo|ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ<wbr />}}|{{transliteration|engvar=gb|lo|Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Laos.svg
| image_coat             = File:Emblem of Laos.png
| coa_size               = 90
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| national_motto         = {{lang|lo|ສັນຕິພາບ ເອກະລາດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ເອກະພາບ ວັດທະນະຖາວອນ}}<br />{{transliteration|engvar=gb|lo|Santiphap, Ekalat, Paxathipatai, Ekaphap, Vatthanathavon}}<br />"Peace, Independence, Democracy, Unity and Prosperity"
| national_anthem        = {{lang|lo|ເພງຊາດລາວ}}<br />{{transliteration|engvar=gb|lo|[[Pheng Xat Lao]]}}<br />"Lao National Anthem"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:National Anthem of Laos.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Laos (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Location Laos ASEAN.svg|250px|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show ASEAN|default=1}}
| map_caption            = {{map caption |location_color= green |region=[[Southeast Asia]] |region_color= none}}
| capital                = [[Vientiane]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|17|58|N|102|36|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Lao language|Lao]]
| recognised_languages   = 
| languages_type         = Spoken languages
| languages              = {{hlist|[[Lao language|Lao]]|[[Khmu language|Khmu]]|[[Hmong language|Hmong]]|[[Phu Thai language|Phu Thai]]|[[Tai language|Tai]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studycountry.com/guide/LA-language.htm|title=The Languages spoken in Laos|website=Studycountry|access-date=16 September 2018|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225003905/https://www.studycountry.com/guide/LA-language.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list 
 | 53.2% [[Lao people|Lao]]
 | 11% [[Khmu people|Khmu]]
 | 9.2% [[Hmong people|Hmong]]
 | 3.4% [[Phu Thai language#Speakers|Phu Thai]]
 | 3.1% [[Tai peoples|Tai]]
 | 2.5% Makong
 | 2.2% [[Katang people|Katang]]
 | 2.0% [[Lu people|Lue]]
 | 1.8% [[Akha people|Akha]]
 | 11.6% other{{efn|Including [[List of ethnic groups in Laos|over 100 smaller ethnic groups]]}}
}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2015<ref name="Census2015">{{cite web|url=https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PHC-ENG-FNAL-WEB_0.pdf|title=Results of Population and Housing Census 2015|publisher=Lao Statistics Bureau|access-date=1 May 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308153132/https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PHC-ENG-FNAL-WEB_0.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Laotian]]
| government_type        = [[Communist state]]{{sfnm|1a1=Brown|1y=1982|1p=30|2a1=Norindr|2y=1982|2pp=39 & 44|3a1=Gunn|3y=1998|3p=120|4a1=Pholsena|4y=2006|4pp=91 & 142|5a1=Bestari|5a2=Mongcopa|5a3=Samson|5a4=Ward|5y=2006|5p=2|6a1=High|6y=2014|6pp=169–170|7a1=Rehbein|7y=2019|7p=168|8a1=Son|8y=2020|8pp=119–120|9a1=Central Intelligence Agency|9y=2025}}
| leader_title1          = [[General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|General Secretary of the LPRP]] and [[President of Laos|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Thongloun Sisoulith]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Laos|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Sonexay Siphandone]]
| leader_title3          = [[Vice President of Laos|Vice President]]
| leader_name3           = [[Bounthong Chitmany]]<br />[[Pany Yathotou]]
| leader_title4          = [[President of the National Assembly of Laos|President of the National Assembly]]
| leader_name4           = [[Saysomphone Phomvihane]]
| leader_title5          = [[Chief Justice]]
| leader_name5           = [[Viengthong Siphandone]]
| legislature            = [[National Assembly (Laos)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Laos|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[Lan Xang|Kingdom of Lan Xang]]
| established_date1      = 1353–1707
| established_event2     = Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Luang Phrabang|Luang Prabang]], [[Kingdom of Vientiane|Vientiane]] and [[Kingdom of Champasak|Champasak]]
| established_date2      = 1707–1778
| established_event3     = Vassals of [[Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)|Siam]]
| established_date3      = 1778–1893
| established_event4     = [[French protectorate of Laos|French protectorate]]
| established_date4      = 1893–1953
| established_event5     = [[Lao Issara]]
| established_date5      = 1945–1949
| established_event6     = [[French Protectorate of Laos#End of colonialism in Laos|Unified Kingdom]]
| established_date6      = 11 May 1947
| established_event7     = [[Kingdom of Laos|Independence]] from [[French colonial empire|France]]
| established_date7      = 22 October 1953
| established_event8     = [[Communist state]] established
| established_date8      = 2 December 1975
| area_km2               = 236,800
| area_rank              = 82nd <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]]-->
| area_sq_mi             = 91,428.991 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| area_footnote          = <ref name=CIA>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Laos|access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>
| percent_water          = 2
| population_estimate    = 7,953,556<ref name=CIA/>
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_estimate_rank = 103rd
| population_density_km2 = 26.7
| population_density_sq_mi = <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 183rd
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $78.850 billion<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases">{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Databases |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/SPROLLs/world-economic-outlook-databases}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 108th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $10,120<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 126th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $16.320 billion<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases"/>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 138th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $2,100<ref name="World Economic Outlook Databases"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 150th
| Gini                   = 36.4 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2012
| Gini_change            = <!--increase/decrease/staedy-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="wb-gini">{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/|title=Gini Index|publisher=World Bank|access-date=2 March 2011|archive-date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209003326/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI|url-status=live}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.617<!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023 <!--Please use the year in which the HDI data refers to and not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2025|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=2025|access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 147th
| currency               = [[Lao kip|Kip]] (₭)
| currency_code          = LAK
| time_zone              = [[Time in Laos|ICT]]
| utc_offset             = +7
| calling_code           = [[+856]]
| cctld                  = [[.la]]
| religion               = {{unbulleted list 
 | 66.0% [[Buddhism in Laos|Buddhism]]{{efn|"The State respects and protects all lawful activities of Buddhists and of followers of other religions, [and] mobilises and encourages Buddhist monks and novices as well as the priests of other religions to participate in activities that are beneficial to the country and people."<ref>{{cite web|title=Lao People's Democratic Republic's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2003|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en|website=constituteproject.org|access-date=29 October 2017|quote=Article 9: The State respects and protects all lawful activities of Buddhists and of followers of other religions, [and] mobilises and encourages Buddhist monks and novices as well as the priests of other religions to participate in activities that are beneficial to the country and people.|archive-date=10 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210232122/https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
 | 30.7% [[Tai folk religion]]
 | 1.5% [[Christianity in Laos|Christianity]] 
 | 1.8% [[Religion in Laos|other]] / [[Irreligion|none]]<ref name="globalReligion" />
}}
| footnotes              = {{notelist}}
}}

'''Laos''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Laos.ogg|l|aʊ|s}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɑː|oʊ|s|,_|ˈ|l|ɑː|ɒ|s|,_|ˈ|l|eɪ|ɒ|s}} {{respell|LOWSS|,_|LAH|ohss|,_|LAH|oss|,_|LAY|oss}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Laos|title=Laos|via=The Free Dictionary|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225194143/https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Laos|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/Laos|title=Laos – definition of Laos in English from the Oxford dictionary|date=9 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109212153/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/Laos |archive-date=9 November 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151130123751/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/laos Oxford Dictionaries (American English)]</ref>}} officially the '''Lao People's Democratic Republic''' ('''LPDR'''),{{efn|{{langx|lo|ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ|translit=Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao|engvar=gb}}}} is the only [[landlocked country]] in [[Southeast Asia]]. Located on the [[Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochinese Peninsula]], it is bordered by [[Myanmar]] and [[China]] to the northwest, [[Vietnam]] to the east, [[Cambodia]] to the southeast, and [[Thailand]] to the west and southwest. Having a population of approximately 8 million,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.na.gov.la/appf17/geography.html|title=About Laos: Geography |website=Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum|publisher=Government of Laos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416191557/http://www.na.gov.la/appf17/geography.html|archive-date=16 April 2016}}</ref> its capital and [[List of cities in Laos|most populous city]] is [[Vientiane]].

The country traces its historic and cultural identity to [[Lan Xang]], a kingdom which existed from the 13th to 18th centuries. Through its location, the kingdom was a hub for overland trade.<ref name="Stuart-Fox">{{Cite book|title=The Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang: Rise and Decline|last=Stuart-Fox|first=Martin|publisher=White Lotus Press|year=1998|isbn=974-8434-33-8|page=49}}</ref> In 1707, Lan Xang split into three kingdoms: [[Kingdom of Luang Phrabang|Luang Prabang]], [[Kingdom of Vientiane|Vientiane]], and [[Kingdom of Champasak|Champasak]]. In 1893, these kingdoms were unified under French protection as part of [[French Indochina]]. Laos was under Japanese administration during [[World War II]], gaining independence in 1945 before returning to French administration until achieving autonomy in 1949. The country regained full independence in 1953 as the [[Kingdom of Laos]], with a constitutional monarchy under [[Sisavang Vong]]. A [[Laotian Civil War|Civil War]] from 1959 to 1975 saw the communist [[Pathet Lao]], supported by [[North Vietnam]], [[China]] and the [[Soviet Union]],  oppose the [[Royal Lao Armed Forces]], backed by the [[United States]]. The war ended with the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975 that aligned with the Soviet Union until [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|the latter's dissolution]] in 1991.

Laos is home to several [[UNESCO World Heritage Sites]], including the historic town of [[Luang Prabang]], the ancient temple complex of [[Vat Phou]], and the [[Plain of Jars]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vongvilay |first1=Xayaphone |last2=Shin |first2=Jai-Eok |last3=Kang |first3=Young-Hwan |last4=Kim |first4=E-Doo |last5=Choi |first5=Joong-Hyun |date=2015-05-01 |title=The Influence of French Colonial Rule on Lao Architecture with a Focus on Residential Buildings |journal=Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=279–286 |doi=10.3130/jaabe.14.279 |issn=1346-7581|doi-access=free}}</ref> As one of the five active [[communist state]]s as of 2025,{{sfnm|1a1=Brown|1y=1982|1p=30|2a1=Norindr|2y=1982|2pp=39 & 44|3a1=Gunn|3y=1998|3p=120|4a1=Pholsena|4y=2006|4pp=91 & 142|5a1=Bestari|5a2=Mongcopa|5a3=Samson|5a4=Ward|5y=2006|5p=2|6a1=High|6y=2014|6pp=169–170|7a1=Rehbein|7y=2019|7p=168|8a1=Son|8y=2020|8pp=119–120|9a1=Central Intelligence Agency|9y=2025}} and the only one that self-designates as a [[people's democratic state]],{{sfnm|1a1=Norindr|1y=1982|1pp=50−51|2a1=Stuart-Fox|2y=1997a|2pp=201−202|3a1=Pholsena|3y=2006|3p=5|4a1=Bestari|4a2=Mongcopa|4a3=Samson|4a4=Ward|4y=2006|4p=2|5a1=High|5y=2014|5p=91|6a1=Chang|6a2=Thio|6a3=Tan|6a4=Yeh|6y=2014|6pp=173−174|7a1=Son|7y=2020|7p=232}} Laos has been governed by the [[Lao People's Revolutionary Party]] (LPRP) since 1975. It has used market-oriented reforms.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.adb.org/publications/lao-pdr-accelerating-structural-transformation-inclusive-growth |title=Lao PDR: Accelerating Structural Transformation for Inclusive Growth – Country Diagnostic Study |date=2017-11-10 |publisher=Asian Development Bank |isbn=978-92-9257-993-7 |doi=10.22617/tcs179052-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bird |first1=Kelly |last2=Hill |first2=Hal |date=June 2010 |title=Tiny, Poor, Land-locked, Indebted, but Growing: Lessons for Late Reforming Transition Economies from Laos |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13600811003753776 |journal=Oxford Development Studies |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=117–143 |doi=10.1080/13600811003753776 |hdl=1885/52194 |issn=1360-0818|hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Laos's development strategy emphasises regional connectivity through infrastructure development. The 2021 completion of the [[Boten–Vientiane railway|Laos–China Railway]] (LCR), connecting Vientiane to [[Kunming]], has increased trade and tourism accessibility.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Osaka City University, Japan |last2=Yan |first2=Xuchong |date=2024-09-18 |title=A Study on the China-Laos Railway's Economic and Strategic Significance |url=http://www.su-journal.com/index.php/su/article/view/407 |journal=Souphanouvong University Journal Multidisciplinary Research and Development |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=115–123 |doi=10.69692/SUJMRD1001115|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Zongshi |last2=Zeng |first2=Wenge |date=2023-12-15 |title=What Would Be Necessary to Construct a Rule Framework for Sustainability in the New Western Land–Sea Corridor? An Analysis Based on Green International Rule of Law |journal=Sustainability |volume=15 |issue=24 |article-number=16888 |doi=10.3390/su152416888 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023Sust...1516888Z |issn=2071-1050}}</ref> The country participates in the Greater Mekong Subregion economic cooperation programme, focusing on cross-border infrastructure and energy projects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Verbiest |first=Jean-Pierre A. |date=2013 |title=Regional Cooperation and Integration in the Mekong Region |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aepr.12015 |journal=Asian Economic Policy Review |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=148–164 |doi=10.1111/aepr.12015 |issn=1748-3131|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The World Bank has recognised Laos as one of [[Southeast Asia]] and Pacific's [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|fastest growing economies]], with annual GDP growth averaging 7.4% since 2009, driven by expanding tourism, energy exports, and foreign investment. While classified as a [[Least developed countries|least developed country]] by the [[United Nations]], Laos is a member of [[ASEAN]], the [[Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement]], [[East Asia Summit]], [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|La Francophonie]], and the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref name="wto">{{cite web | url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/lao_e.htm | title=Lao People's Democratic Republic and the WTO | publisher=World Trade Organization | access-date=9 August 2014 | archive-date=12 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812135345/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/lao_e.htm | url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Laos}}

=== Prehistory ===
In 2009, an [[anatomically modern human]] [[skull]] was recovered from the [[Tam Pa Ling Cave]] in the [[Annamite Range|Annamite Mountains]] in northern Laos; the skull is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 22908291|pmc = 3437904|year = 2012|last1 = Demeter|first1 = F|display-authors=et al.|title = Anatomically modern human in Southeast Asia (Laos) by 46 ka|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume = 109|issue = 36|pages = 14375–14380|doi = 10.1073/pnas.1208104109|bibcode = 2012PNAS..10914375D|doi-access = free|issn = 0027-8424}}</ref> Stone artefacts including [[Hoabinhian]] types have been found at sites dating to the [[Pleistocene]] in northern Laos.<ref>{{Cite journal|year = 2009|last1 = White|first1 = J.C.|title = Archaeological Investigations in northern Laos: New contributions to Southeast Asian prehistory|journal = Antiquity|volume = 83|issue = 319|last2 = Lewis|first2 = H.|last3 = Bouasisengpaseuth|first3 = B.|last4 = Marwick|first4 = B.|last5 = Arrell|first5 = K|url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/white/|access-date = 2016-09-18 |archive-date = 2017-10-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171010191403/http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/white/|url-status = live}}</ref>

Archaeological evidence suggests an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BCE,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marwick |first1=Ben |last2=Bouasisengpaseuth |first2=Bounheung |chapter=History and Practice of Archaeology in Laos |editor1-last=Habu |editor1-first=Junko |editor2-last=Lape |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Olsen |editor3-first=John |title=Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology |publisher=Springer |date=2017|chapter-url=https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/75zhc/|access-date=2018-01-20|archive-date=2019-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706125232/https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/75zhc/|url-status=live}}</ref> a society in which bronze objects appeared around 1500 BCE, and iron tools were known from 700 BCE. The proto-historic period is characterised by contact with Chinese and Indian civilisations. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, [[Tai languages|Tai-speaking]] tribes migrated southwestward to the territories of Laos and [[Thailand]] from [[Guangxi]] sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.<ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn">{{cite journal |url=http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |last=Pittayaporn |first=Pittayawat |date=2014 |title=Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627063518/http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |archivedate=2015-06-27 |journal=MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities |number=Special Issue No 20 |pages=47–64}}</ref>

=== Lan Xang ===
{{Main|Lan Xang}}

Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang ('million elephants'), which was founded in the 13th century by a Lao prince, [[Fa Ngum]],<ref name="Coedes">{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans. Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968 |publisher= University of Hawaii Press |isbn = 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|223}} whose father had his family exiled from the [[Khmer Empire]]. Fa Ngum, with 10,000 [[Khmer people|Khmer]] troops, conquered some Lao principalities in the [[Mekong]] river basin, culminating in the capture of [[Vientiane]]. Ngum was descended from a line of Lao kings that traced back to Khoun Boulom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fa-Ngum|title=Fa Ngum|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 December 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308050252/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fa-Ngum|url-status=live}}</ref> He made [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] the state religion. His ministers, unable to tolerate his ruthlessness, forced him into exile to what is later the Thai province of [[Nan Province|Nan]] in 1373,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.history.com/topics/fa-ngum |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100308201136/http://www.history.com/topics/fa-ngum |archive-date = 8 March 2010 |title = Fa Ngum |publisher=History.com |access-date = 23 January 2011}}</ref> where he died. Fa Ngum's eldest son, Oun Heuan, ascended to the throne under the name [[Samsenethai]] and reigned for 43&nbsp;years. Lan Xang became a trade centre during Samsenthai's reign, and after his death in 1421 it collapsed into warring factions for nearly a century.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 3, "Through Chaos to a New Order", in ''The Kingdoms of Laos'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). {{ISBN|9781136863370}}</ref>

In 1520, [[Photisarath]] came to the throne and moved the capital from [[Luang Prabang]] to Vientiane to avoid a Burmese invasion. [[Setthathirath]] became king in 1548, after his father was killed, and ordered the construction of [[Pha That Luang|That Luang]]. Settathirath disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into [[Cambodia]], and [[Lan Xang]] fell into more than 70 years of "instability", involving Burmese invasion and civil war.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 6, "Seventy Years of Anarchy", in ''The Kingdoms of Laos'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). {{ISBN|9781136863370}}; see also P.C. Sinha, ed., ''Encyclopaedia of South East and Far East Asia'', vol. 3 (Anmol, 2006).</ref>

In 1637, when [[Sourigna Vongsa]] ascended the throne, Lan Xang further expanded its frontiers. When he died without an heir, the kingdom split into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed [[Luang Prabang]], while [[Kingdom of Champasak|Champasak]] eventually came under Siamese [[suzerainty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Askew, Marc.|title=Vientiane: transformations of a Lao landscape|year=2010|orig-date= 2007|publisher=Routledge|others=Logan, William Stewart, 1942–, Long, Colin, 1966–|isbn=978-0-415-59662-6|location=London|oclc=68416667}}</ref>

[[Anouvong|Chao Anouvong]] was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature and improved relations with [[Luang Prabang|Luang Phrabang]]. Under Vietnamese pressure, [[Lao rebellion (1826–1828)|he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826]]. The rebellion failed, and Vientiane was ransacked.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=3&id=15718 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126004328/http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=15718&sec=3 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 November 2010 |title=Let's hope Laos hangs on to its identity |publisher=Asianewsnet.net |access-date=23 January 2011}}</ref> Anouvong was taken to [[Bangkok]] as a prisoner, where he died.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Imperial Wars 1815–1914 | series = Encyclopedia of Warfare Series |editor-last=Showalter | editor-first =  Dennis | editor-link = Dennis Showalter |date= 2013|isbn=978-1-78274-125-1|publisher = Amber Books | location=London|oclc=1152285624}}</ref>

In a time period where the acquisition of humans was a priority over the ownership of land, the warfare of pre-modern Southeast Asia revolved around the seizing of people and resources from its enemies. A Siamese military campaign in Laos in 1876 was described by a British observer as having been "transformed into [[Slavery in Asia|slave-hunting raids]] on a large scale".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-10-12 |title=Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Northern Thailand: Archival Anecdotes and Village Voices |publisher=The New Kyoto Review of South East Asia Website |url=http://kyotoreviewsea.org/slavery3.htm |access-date=2025-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012011239/http://kyotoreviewsea.org/slavery3.htm |archive-date=2010-10-12}}</ref>

=== French Laos (1893–1953) ===
{{Main|French protectorate of Laos|First Indochina War}}

[[File:Local Lao in the French Colonial guard.png|thumb|Local Lao soldiers in the French Colonial guard, {{circa| 1900}}]]

In the 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese [[Black Flag Army]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Librios Semantic Environment |url = http://www.culturalprofiles.net/laos/Directories/Laos_Cultural_Profile/-1064.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070718125054/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/laos/Directories/Laos_Cultural_Profile/-1064.html |archive-date = 18 July 2007 |title = Laos: Laos under the French |publisher = Culturalprofiles.net |date=11 August 2006 |access-date = 23 January 2011}}</ref> France rescued King [[Oun Kham]] and added Luang Phrabang to the protectorate of [[French Indochina]]. The [[Kingdom of Champasak]] and the territory of Vientiane were added to the protectorate. King [[Sisavangvong]] of Luang Phrabang became ruler of a unified Laos, and Vientiane once again became the capital.<ref>Carine Hahn, ''Le Laos'', Karthala, 1999, pp. 69–72</ref>

Laos produced [[tin]], rubber, and coffee; the country never accounted for more than 1% of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/history |title = History of Laos |website = Lonely Planet |date = 9 August 1960 |access-date = 23 January 2011 |archive-date = 25 February 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210225100345/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/history}}</ref> Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos; this was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a labour shortage within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space.<ref name="SørenIvarsson">{{Cite book |last=Ivarsson |first=Søren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsXjlJF_fokC&pg=PA102 |title=Creating Laos: The Making of a Lao Space Between Indochina and Siam, 1860–1945 |date=2008 |publisher=NIAS Press |isbn=978-87-7694-023-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140148/https://books.google.com/books?id=FsXjlJF_fokC&pg=PA102 |archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in some cities of Laos and having the right to elect its own leaders. As a result, 53% of the population of Vientiane, 85% of [[Thakhek]], and 62% of [[Pakse]] were Vietnamese; the exception was [[Luang Prabang]], where the population was predominantly Lao. As late as 1945, the French drew up a plan to move a number of Vietnamese to three areas (i.e., the Vientiane Plain, [[Savannakhet Province|Savannakhet region]], and the [[Bolaven Plateau]]), which was derailed by the Japanese invasion of Indochina. Otherwise, according to [[Martin Stuart-Fox]], the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA">{{Cite book |last=Stuart-Fox |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VvvevRkX-EC&dq=A+History+of+Laos&pg=PA51 |title=A History of Laos |date=1997-09-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-59746-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405045254/https://books.google.com/books?id=8VvvevRkX-EC&dq=A+History+of+Laos&pg=PA51 |archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

During [[French Protectorate of Laos#Laos during World War II|World War II in Laos]], [[Vichy France]], [[Thailand]], [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]] and [[Free France]] occupied Laos.<ref>Paul Lévy, ''Histoire du Laos'', PUF, 1974.</ref> On 9 March 1945, a nationalist group declared Laos once more independent, with [[Luang Prabang]] as its capital; on 7 April 1945, two battalions of Japanese troops occupied the city. The Japanese attempted to force [[Sisavang Vong]] (the king of Luang Phrabang) to declare Laotian independence, and on 8 April he instead declared an end to Laos's status as a French protectorate. The king then secretly sent Prince [[Kindavong]] to represent Laos to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] and [[Sisavang Vatthana|Prince Sisavang]] as representative to the Japanese.<ref name="A Country Study: Laos">Savada, Andrea Matles (editor) (1994). "Events in 1945". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/latoc.html ''A Country Study: Laos''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721090309/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/latoc.html |date=21 July 2015}}. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.</ref> When Japan surrendered, some Lao nationalists (including Prince [[Phetsarath Ratanavongsa|Phetsarath]]) declared Laotian independence, and by 1946, French troops had reoccupied the country and conferred autonomy on Laos.<ref name="britannica" />

During the [[First Indochina War]], the [[Indochinese Communist Party]] formed the [[Pathet Lao]] independence organisation. The Pathet Lao began a war against the French colonial forces with the aid of the Vietnamese independence organisation, the [[Viet Minh]]. In 1950, the French were forced to give Laos semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the [[French Union]]. France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a [[constitutional monarchy]].<ref name=bbc>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15355605|title=Laos profile|date=9 January 2018|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308064338/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15355605|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330219/Laos/52500/People?anchor=ref509292 |title=Laos – Overview |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 January 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175031/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330219/Laos/52500/People?anchor=ref509292 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Independence and communist rule (1953–) ===
{{Main|History of Laos since 1945|3 = Laotian Civil War}}

[[File:FrenchLaos1953.png|thumb|French general [[Raoul Salan]] and [[Sisavang Vatthana|Prince Sisavang Vatthana]] in Luang Prabang, 4 May 1953]]
The First Indochina War took place across French Indochina and eventually led to French defeat and the signing of a peace accord for Laos at the [[1954 Geneva Conference|Geneva Conference of 1954]]. In 1960, amidst a series of rebellions in the [[Kingdom of Laos]], fighting broke out between the [[Royal Lao Army]] (RLA) and the communist [[North Vietnam]]ese and [[Soviet Union]]-backed Pathet Lao guerillas. A second [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] formed by Prince [[Souvanna Phouma]] in 1962 was unsuccessful, and the situation turned into [[Laotian Civil War|civil war]] between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN) and the [[Viet Cong]].<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="britannica" />

[[File:Muang Khoun - Laos - 01.JPG|thumb|right|Ruins of [[Khoune district|Muang Khoun]], former capital of [[Xiangkhouang Province|Xiangkhouang province]], destroyed by the [[CIA activities in Laos|American bombing of Laos]] in the 1960s]]
Laos was a part of the [[Vietnam War]] since parts of Laos were [[North Vietnamese invasion of Laos|invaded and occupied]] by [[North Vietnam]] since 1958 for use as a supply route for its war against [[South Vietnam]]. In response, the [[United States]] initiated a bombing campaign against the PAVN positions, supported regular and irregular anti-communist forces in Laos, and supported [[CIA activities in Laos|incursions into Laos]] by the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]].<ref name=bbc /><ref name=britannica />

Aerial bombardments against the PAVN/[[Pathet Lao]] forces were carried out by the [[United States]] to prevent the collapse of the [[Kingdom of Laos]] central government, and to deny the use of the [[Ho Chi Minh trail|Ho Chi Minh Trail]] to attack US forces in [[South Vietnam]].<ref name=bbc /> Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1&nbsp;million tons of bombs the US dropped on Europe and Asia during all of World War II. This made Laos the most heavily bombed country in history relative to the size of its population; ''[[The New York Times]]'' notes this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos".<ref>{{cite web|author-link1=Ben Kiernan|last1=Kiernan|first1=Ben|last2=Owen|first2=Taylor|url=http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|title=Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications|work=The Asia-Pacific Journal|date=26 April 2015|access-date=18 September 2016|archive-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301041322/http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some 80 million bombs failed to explode and remain scattered throughout the country. [[Unexploded ordnance]] (UXO), including [[cluster munitions]] and mines, kill or maim approximately 50 Laotians every year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wright|first=Rebecca|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/|title='My friends were afraid of me': What 80 million unexploded US bombs did to Laos|work=[[CNN]]|date=6 September 2016|access-date=18 September 2016|archive-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the impact of cluster bombs during this war, Laos was an advocate of the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]] to ban the weapons and was host to the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Disarmament|url=http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument|work=The United Nations Office at Geneva|publisher=United Nations|access-date=20 September 2013|date=November 2011|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060643/http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Vientianne1973.jpg|thumb|[[Pathet Lao]] soldiers in [[Vientiane]], 1973]]
In 1975, the [[Pathet Lao]] overthrew the royalist government, forcing King [[Sisavang Vatthana|Savang Vatthana]] to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died in a [[Re-education camp (Vietnam)|re-education camp]]. Between 20,000 and 62,000 Laotians died during the civil war.<ref name=bbc /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Obermeyer|first1=Ziad|last2=Murray|first2=Christopher J. L.|last3=Gakidou|first3=Emmanuela|year=2008|title=Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme|journal=[[BMJ]]|volume=336|issue=7659|pages=1482–1486|doi=10.1136/bmj.a137|pmid=18566045|pmc=2440905}} See Table 3.</ref>

On 2 December 1975, after taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government under [[Kaysone Phomvihane]] renamed the country as the ''Lao People's Democratic Republic''; the government also signed agreements giving [[Vietnam]] the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. The ties between Laos and [[Vietnam]] were formalised via a treaty signed in 1977, which has since provided direction for Lao foreign policy, and provides the basis for Vietnamese involvement at levels of Lao political and economic life.<ref name=bbc /><ref name="Martin Stuart-Fox">{{Cite journal |last=Stuart-Fox |first=Martin |date=1980 |title=LAOS: The Vietnamese Connection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27908403 |journal=Southeast Asian Affairs |pages=191–209 |article-number=SEAA80n |doi=10.1355/SEAA80N |jstor=27908403 |issn=0377-5437 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013074847/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27908403?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents |archive-date=13 October 2021}}</ref> In 1979, Laos was requested by [[Vietnam]] to end relations with the [[China|People's Republic of China]]; this led to isolation in trade by [[China]], the [[United States]], and other countries.<ref name="DamienKingsbury">{{Cite book |last=Kingsbury |first=Damien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=Politics in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Authority, Democracy and Political Change |date=2016-09-13 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-49628-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140218/https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> In 1979, there were 50,000 PAVN troops stationed in Laos and as many as 6,000 civilian Vietnamese officials including 1,000 directly attached to the ministries in [[Vientiane]].<ref name="Savada">Savada, Andrea M. (1995). ''[http://www.public-library.uk/dailyebook/Laos%20-%20a%20country%20study.pdf Laos: a country study] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183125/http://www.public-library.uk/dailyebook/Laos%20-%20a%20country%20study.pdf |date=19 April 2018}}''. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, p. 271. {{ISBN|0-8444-0832-8}}</ref><ref name="Prayaga">Prayaga, M. (2005). ''[http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/103010/8/08_chapter-iv.pdf Renovation in Vietnam since 1988 a study in political, economic and social change] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419122734/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/103010/8/08_chapter-iv.pdf |date=19 April 2018}} (PhD thesis''). Sri Venkateswara University. Chapter IV: The Metamorphosed Foreign Relations, pg. 154.</ref>

On 30 April 2024, Laos prohibited corporal punishment of children with the enactment of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children. It was the first [[ASEAN]] state to realise children's rights to protection from all violent punishment.

==== Relations with the Hmong ====
The [[Insurgency in Laos|conflict]] between [[Hmong people|Hmong]] rebels and Laos [[Insurgency in Laos|continued in areas]] of Laos, including in Saysaboune Closed Military Zone, Xaisamboune Closed Military Zone near Vientiane Province and [[Xiangkhouang Province]].<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm Laos (04/09)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024185208/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm |date=24 October 2020}}. U.S. Department of State.{{failed verification|date=January 2021}}</ref> In 1977, a communist newspaper promised the party would hunt down the "American collaborators" and their families "to the last root".<ref name="timesonline2006">{{cite news |url = https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/france/paris/no-way-out-hczwmj77xln |work = [[The Times]] |date = 30 July 2006 |title = No way out |location = London |access-date = 14 November 2022 |archive-date = 12 November 2022 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20221112154909/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/no-way-out-hczwmj77xln|url-status = live}}</ref> As many as 200,000 Hmong went into exile in [[Thailand]], with some ending up in the [[United States|US]]. Other Hmong fighters hid out in mountains in Xiangkhouang Province for years, with a remnant emerging from the jungle in 2003.<ref name="timesonline2006" />

In 1989, the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR), with the support of the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]], instituted the [[Comprehensive Plan of Action]], a programme to stem the tide of Indochinese refugees from Laos, [[Vietnam]], and [[Cambodia]]. Under the plan, refugee status was evaluated through a screening process. Recognised asylum seekers were given resettlement opportunities, while the remaining refugees were to be repatriated under guarantee of safety. After talks with the UNHCR and the Thai government, Laos agreed to repatriate the 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including several thousand [[Hmong people]]. Some of the Lao refugees were willing to return voluntarily.<ref>"Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand", U.P.I., 5 June 1991.</ref> Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from [[UNHCR]], allegations of forced repatriation surfaced.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lao Refugees Return Home Under European Union Repatriation Program|agency=[[Associated Press]] Worldstream|date=22 November 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author= Karen J. |title=House Panel Hears Concerns About Hmong|work=[[States News Service]]|date=26 April 1994}}</ref> Of those Hmong who did return to Laos, some escaped back to [[Thailand]], describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamilton-Merritt|first=Jane |date=1993|title=Tragic Mountains|publisher=Indiana University Press|pages=xix–xxi|isbn=0-253-20756-8}}</ref> In 1993, Vue Mai, a former Hmong soldier and leader of the largest Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, who had been recruited by the US&nbsp;Embassy in [[Bangkok]] to return to Laos as proof of the repatriation programme's success, disappeared in [[Vientiane]]. According to the US&nbsp;Committee for Refugees, he was arrested by Lao security forces and was never seen again.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-01/news/25827599_1_vang-pao-vientiane-lao-government|title=Hmong Leader's Vanishing In Laos Reverberates in U.S.|access-date=6 September 2016|archive-date=7 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007062309/http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-01/news/25827599_1_vang-pao-vientiane-lao-government}}</ref>

Following the Vue Mai incident, debate over the Hmong's planned repatriation to Laos intensified, including in the United States, where it drew opposition from American conservatives and some human rights advocates.<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |last=Johns |first=Michael |date=23 October 1995 |title=Acts of Betrayal: Persecution of Hmong |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206164352/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |access-date=9 December 2013 |work=National Review}}</ref> While some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb909nb5j8&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text|title=Reports on results of investigations of allegations concerning the welfare of Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand and Laos|agency=Refugee and Migration Affairs Unit|publisher=United States Embassy (Thailand)|date=1992|access-date= 27 July 2007}}</ref> thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996 as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, and under mounting political pressure, the United States agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a screening process.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gunderson|first=Steve |date=18 May 1996|title=State Department Outlines Resettlement Guidelines for Hmong Refugees|work=Congressional Press Releases}}</ref> Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at [[Wat Tham Krabok]], a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees had already been living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, and the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the [[illegal drug trade]] and were of non-Lao origin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Laos refuses to take back Thai-based Hmong refugees|work=Deutsche Presse-Agentur|date=20 August 1998}}</ref> Following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the United States, in a victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2004/28212.htm |title=Refugee Admissions Program for East Asia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614201938/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2004/28212.htm |archive-date=14 June 2021|publisher=Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration|date=16 January 2004|access-date=17 January 2009}}</ref> Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the United States, fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizeable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html |date = 7 March 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081021133910/http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html |title = History of the Hmong Resettlement Task Force |publisher = Hmong Resettlement Task Force |archive-date = 21 October 2008}}</ref>

In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of [[Phetchabun Province|Phetchabun]].<ref>{{Cite news |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4724199.stm |work = BBC News |title = Hmong refugees pleading to stay |date = 28 July 2005 |access-date = 4 May 2010 |archive-date = 10 June 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210610101450/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4724199.stm |url-status = live}}</ref> Lending further support to earlier claims that the government of Laos was persecuting the Hmong, filmmaker Rebecca Sommer documented first-hand accounts in her documentary, ''Hunted Like Animals'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sommerfilms.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php |title=Hunted like animals|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105092728/http://www.sommerfilms.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php |archive-date=5 January 2011|publisher=Rebecca Sommer Film Clips}}</ref> and in a comprehensive report that includes summaries of refugee claims, which was submitted to the UN in May 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earthpeoples.org/new/report-download/REPORT-Hmong-Rebecca_Sommer.pdf |title=Report on the situation in the Xaysomboun Special Zone and 1100 Hmong-Lao refugees who escaped to Petchabun, Thailand during 2004–2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406114320/http://www.earthpeoples.org/new/report-download/REPORT-Hmong-Rebecca_Sommer.pdf |archive-date=6 April 2012|first=Rebecca |last=Sommer|date= May 2006}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Laos}}

[[File:Mekong River (Luang Prabang).jpg|thumb|[[Mekong River]] flowing through [[Luang Prabang]] ]]
Laos is the only landlocked country in [[Southeast Asia]]. It lies mostly between latitudes [[14th parallel north|14°]] and [[23rd parallel north|23°N]] (an area is south of 14°), and longitudes [[100th meridian east|100°]] and [[108th meridian east|108°E]]. Its forested landscape consists mostly of mountains, the highest of which is [[Phou Bia]] at {{convert|2818|m|ft|0}}, with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a part of the western boundary with Thailand, where the mountains of the [[Annamite Range]] form most of the eastern border with Vietnam and the [[Luang Prabang Range]] the northwestern border with the [[Thai highlands]]. There are two plateaus, the [[Xiangkhoang Plateau|Xiangkhoang]] in the north and the [[Bolaven Plateau]] at the southern end. Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas: north, central, and south.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web|title=Nsc Lao Pdr|url=http://www.nsc.gov.la/Products/Populationcensus2005/PopulationCensus2005_chapter2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123082302/http://www.nsc.gov.la/Products/Populationcensus2005/PopulationCensus2005_chapter2.htm|archive-date=23 January 2012|publisher=Nsc.gov.la}}</ref> Laos had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 5.59/10, ranking it 98th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|display-authors=et al.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|article-number=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref>

In 1993, the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for [[habitat conservation]] preservation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indochinatrek.com/laos/lao-guides.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110175658/http://indochinatrek.com/laos/lao-guides.html|archive-date=10 November 2010 |title=Laos travel guides|publisher=Indochinatrek.com |access-date=23 January 2011}}</ref> The country is one of four nations in the opium poppy growing region known as the "[[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123604085|title=Mekong Divides Different Worlds In 'Golden Triangle'|website=NPR.org|access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204231526/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123604085|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the October 2007 [[UNODC]] fact book ''Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia'', the poppy cultivation area was {{convert|15|km2|sqmi}}; this is down from {{convert|18|km2|sqmi}} in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/2007-opium-SEAsia.pdf|title=Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia|date=October 2007|website=UNODC|access-date=28 January 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308175047/https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/2007-opium-SEAsia.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map LAO present.svg|thumb|Köppen climate classification map of Laos]]
The climate is mostly tropical savanna and influenced by the [[monsoon]] pattern. There is a rainy season from May to October, followed by a dry season from November to April. Local tradition holds that there are three seasons: rainy, cool and hot. Further, the latter two months of the climatologically defined dry season are hotter than the earlier four months.<ref name="climate">{{cite web|title=Laos – Climate|url=http://countrystudies.us/laos/45.htm|access-date=23 January 2011|publisher=Countrystudies.us|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520154327/http://countrystudies.us/laos/45.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Wildlife===
{{Main|Wildlife of Laos}}

Laos, with its [[Forest ecology|forests]] and [[river]] systems, is home to an [[Biodiversity|array]] of wildlife.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/lao/publication/lao-biodiversity-a-priority-for-resilient-green-growth |title=Biodiversity |publisher=dicf.unepgrid.ch |access-date=4 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dicf.unepgrid.ch/lao-peoples-democratic-republic/biodiversity? |title=Lao Biodiversity: A Priority for Resilient Green Growth |date=17 July 2020 |website=worldbank.org |access-date=4 May 2025}}</ref> National parks like [[Nam Et-Phou Louey]] are critical [[Nature reserve|refuges]], supporting [[Endangered species|endangered]] species such as the [[northern white-cheeked gibbon]] and the [[saola]].<ref name="Laos wildlife1">{{cite web|url=https://www.namet.org/wildlife |title=Laos wildlife |website=worldbank.org |access-date=4 May 2025}}</ref> These forests shelter more than 50 [[mammal]] species and nearly 300 [[bird]] species, along with a variety of [[Reptile|reptiles]] and [[Amphibian|amphibians]].{{efn|"''The Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park harbors over 50 species of mammals, more than 300 species of birds, and reptiles and amphibians.''"<ref name="Laos wildlife1" />}}

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Laos}}

[[File:Provinces-Laos.svg|thumb|An updated map of Lao provinces (from 2014)]]
Laos is divided into 17 [[Provinces of Laos|provinces]] (''khoueng'') and one prefecture (''kampheng nakhon''), which includes the capital city Vientiane (''Nakhon Louang Viangchan'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/|title=East Asia/Southeast Asia  |website=The World Factbook |access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307193820/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;"
|- style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;"
! scope="col" | No.
! scope="col" | [[Provinces of Laos|Subdivisions]]
! scope="col" | Capital
! scope="col" | Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! scope="col" | Population
|-
! 1 
| [[Attapeu province|Attapeu]] || [[Attapeu]] (Samakkhixay district) || style="text-align:right"|10,320|| style="text-align:right"|114,300
|-
! 2 
| [[Bokeo province|Bokeo]] || [[Houayxay]] (Houayxay district) || style="text-align:right"|6,196|| style="text-align:right"|149,700
|-
! 3 
| [[Bolikhamxai province|Bolikhamsai]] || [[Paksan]] ([[Paksane District]]) ||style="text-align:right"|14,863|| style="text-align:right"|214,900
|-
! 4 
| [[Champasak province|Champasak]] || [[Pakse]] (Pakse District) || style="text-align:right"|15,415|| style="text-align:right"|575,600
|-
! 5 
| [[Houaphanh Province|Houaphanh]] || [[Xam Neua]] ([[Xam Neua District|Xamneua District]]) || style="text-align:right"|16,500|| style="text-align:right"|322,200
|-
! 6 
| [[Khammouane Province|Khammouane]] || [[Thakhek]] ([[Thakhek District]]) ||style="text-align:right"|16,315|| style="text-align:right"|358,800
|-
! 7 
| [[Luang Namtha Province|Luang Namtha]] || [[Luang Namtha]] ([[Namtha District]]) || style="text-align:right"|9,325|| style="text-align:right"|150,100
|-
! 8 
| [[Luang Prabang province|Luang Prabang]] || [[Luang Prabang]] (Luang Prabang district) || style="text-align:right"|16,875|| style="text-align:right"|408,800
|-
! 9 
| [[Oudomxay Province|Oudomxay]] || [[Muang Xay]] ([[Xay District]]) || style="text-align:right"|15,370|| style="text-align:right"|275,300
|-
! 10 
| [[Phongsaly Province|Phongsaly]] || [[Phongsali]] ([[Phongsaly District]]) || style="text-align:right"|16,270|| style="text-align:right"|199,900
|-
! 11 
| [[Sainyabuli Province|Sainyabuli]] || [[Sainyabuli|Sayabouly]] ([[Xayabury District]]) || style="text-align:right"|16,389|| style="text-align:right"|382,200
|-
! 12 
| [[Salavan Province|Salavan]] || [[Salavan (city)|Salavan]] ([[Saravane District|Salavan District]]) || style="text-align:right"|10,691|| style="text-align:right"|336,600
|-
! 13 
| [[Savannakhet Province|Savannakhet]] || [[Savannakhet]] ([[Kaysone Phomvihane District]]) || style="text-align:right"|21,774|| style="text-align:right"|721,500
|-
! 14 
| [[Sekong Province|Sekong]] || [[Sekong]] ([[Lam Mam District|Lamarm District]]) || style="text-align:right"|7,665|| style="text-align:right"|83,600
|-
! 15 
| [[Vientiane Prefecture]] || [[Vientiane]] (Chanthabouly district) || style="text-align:right"|3,920|| style="text-align:right"|1,001,477
|-
! 16 
| [[Vientiane province|Vientiane Province]] || [[Phonhong]] ([[Muang Phon-Hong|Phonhong District]]) || style="text-align:right"|15,927|| style="text-align:right"|373,700
|-
! 17 
| [[Xiangkhouang Province|Xiengkhouang]] || [[Phonsavan]] ([[Pek District]]) || style="text-align:right"|15,880|| style="text-align:right"|229,521
|-
! 18 
| [[Xaisomboun province|Xaisomboun]]|| Anouvong ([[Anouvong district]]) || style="text-align:right"|8,300|| style="text-align:right"|82,000
|}

==Governance and politics==
{{Main|Politics of Laos}}

The LPDR is a [[communist state]] that self-designates as a [[people's democratic state]],{{sfnm|1a1=Brown|1y=1982|1p=30|2a1=Norindr|2y=1982|2pp=39 & 44|3a1=Gunn|3y=1998|3p=120|4a1=Pholsena|4y=2006|4pp=91 & 142|5a1=Bestari|5a2=Mongcopa|5a3=Samson|5a4=Ward|5y=2006|5p=2|6a1=High|6y=2014|6pp=169–170|7a1=Rehbein|7y=2019|7p=168|8a1=Son|8y=2020|8pp=119–120|9a1=Central Intelligence Agency|9y=2025}} meaning that it is officially trying to transition the country from [[capitalism]] to [[socialist mode of production|socialism]], before commencing to transition from socialism to [[Communist society|communism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Norindr|1y=1982|1pp=50−51|2a1=Stuart-Fox|2y=1997a|2pp=201−202|3a1=Pholsena|3y=2006|3p=5|4a1=Bestari|4a2=Mongcopa|4a3=Samson|4a4=Ward|4y=2006|4p=2|5a1=High|5y=2014|5p=91|6a1=Chang|6a2=Thio|6a3=Tan|6a4=Yeh|6y=2014|6pp=173−174|7a1=Son|7y=2020|7p=232}} In ''[[The Economist]]'''s ''[[Democracy Index]] 2016'', Laos was classified as an "authoritarian regime", ranking lowest of the 9 [[ASEAN]] nations included in the study.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cigaral |first1=Ian Nicolas |title=In charts: How the Philippines fares in Southeast Asia |url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/11/1757872/charts-how-philippines-fares-southeast-asia |access-date=12 November 2017 |work=The Philippine Star |date=11 November 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308104435/https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/11/1757872/charts-how-philippines-fares-southeast-asia |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Democracy Index 2016 |url=https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index |access-date=12 November 2017 |work=The Economist Intelligence Unit |date=2017 |archive-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024223940/http://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index |url-status=live}}</ref> 


===The Lao People's Revolutionary Party's leading role in state and society===
[[File:Flag of LPRP.svg|thumb|Flag of the ruling [[Lao People's Revolutionary Party]]]]
The [[Lao People's Revolutionary Party]] (LPRP) is the founding and ruling party of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The [[leading role of the party|leading role]] of the LPRP over state and society is enshrined in the [[Constitution of Laos|constitution]] by stating that "The rights of the multi-ethnic people to be the masters of the country are exercised and ensured through the functioning of the political system with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party as its leading nucleus."{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1pp=211 & 233}} All Lao state organs operate under the leadership of the LPRP; because of the party's organizational principle of [[democratic centralism]], all party members in state organs are required to implement the decisions of the [[Central Committee of the LPRP]]. All state organs consist of a majority of party members as well. The party also establishes party groups within state organs, which the LPRP Central Committee supervises through its [[Secretariat of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Secretariat]] and the [[Organisation Commission of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Organisation Commission]].{{sfnm|1a1=Soukamneuth|1y=2006|1p=54|2a1=Creak|2a2=Sayalath|2y=2017|2p=181|3a1=Punya|3y=2019|3p=58|4a1=Croissant|4y=2022|4p=120}}

The highest organ of the LPRP is the [[Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|party congress]], which meets at least every fifth year.{{sfnm|1a1=Soukamneuth|1y=2006|1p=54|2a1=Creak|2a2=Sayalath|2y=2017|2p=179}} It elects the members and candidates of the LPRP Central Committee.{{sfnm|1a1=Punya|1y=2019|1p=58}} At its first session after a party congress, the LPRP Central Committee elects its [[central leading organ]]s: the [[Politburo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Politburo]], the [[Secretariat of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Secretariat]], the [[Inspection Commission of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Inspection Commission]], and the [[Defence and Public Security Commission of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Defence and Public Security Commission]] (DPSC).{{sfnm|1a1=Stuart-Fox|1y=2002|1p=309|2a1=Soukamneuth|2y=2006|2p=54|3a1=Punya|3y=2019|3p=98}} It also elects the [[party leader]], the [[General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|general secretary of the LPRP Central Committee]].{{sfnm|1a1=Soukamneuth|1y=2006|1p=54}} The general secretary leads the work of the Politburo while concurrently serving as chairman of the DPSC. He co-leads the Secretariat with the [[Standing Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|Standing Member of the LPRP Secretariat]].{{sfnm|1a1=Stuart-Fox|1y=2002|1p=309|2a1=Soukamneuth|2y=2006|2p=55}} These organs are delegated specific powers of the Central Committee when the latter is not in session; the Politburo is the party's highest decision-making organ when the Central Committee, the Conference, and the Congress are not in session.{{sfnm|1a1=Punya|1y=2019|1p=98}} The party heads are elected by a session of the LPRP Central Committee. On 15 January 2021, the 1st Plenary Session of the sitting [[11th Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|11th LPRP Central Committee]] elected [[Thongloun Sisoulith]] as general secretary, [[Bounthong Chitmany]] as standing member, and [[Khamphanh Phommathat]] as chair of the LPRP Inspection Commission. The session also elected the [[11th Politburo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|11th Politburo]], the [[11th Secretariat of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|11th Secretariat]], and the [[11th Inspection Commission of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|11th Inspection Commission]].{{sfnm|1a1=Douangsatcha|1y=2021}}

The LPRP, as the leading force of state and society, has a legal monopoly on state power.{{sfn|Son|2020|p=211}} According to scholar [[Martin Stuart-Fox]], the LPRP's control is cemented by populating every state organ, bureaucracy, [[transmission belt]] mass organisation, and the [[Lao People's Armed Forces]] (LPAF) with party members. He concludes, "In all four, it is virtually ''de rigueur'' for leading figures to be Party members. They would not be in those positions unless they were members of the Party. Party cells operate in all institutions, and there is active recruitment of promising younger personnel into the Party; membership is by invitation only."{{sfnm|1a1=Stuart-Fox|1y=2002|1p=309|2a1=Son|2y=2020|2p=232}} Economist Bounlonh J.Soukamneuth concurs with Stuart-Fox's assessment and writes that the "Party monopolises political ambition and regulates public life. Party operatives penetrate all institutions of [state] and many areas of society. All party-state organisations (from the government bureaucracy, the mass organisation, to the military) implement party directives and administer its monopoly on power."{{sfnm|1a1=Soukamneuth|1y=2006|1pp=53–4}} The LPAF is tasked by the state constitution to defend the gains of the revolution, but says little else about civil-military relations and political control over the armed forces. On the other hand, the LPRP's own statute makes clear that political leadership over the military and other security forces is in the hands of the LPRP DPSC, which maintains direct, united, and full control of the LPAF.{{sfnm|1a1=Stuart-Fox|1y=2002|1p=309}}

===The National Assembly's unified state power===
[[File:National Assembly of Laos (11888085666).jpg|thumb|right|The seat of the [[National Assembly of Laos]], the [[supreme state organ of power]].]]
The [[National Assembly of Laos|National Assembly]] is the Lao [[supreme state organ of power]] and formally holds the [[unified state power|unified powers of the state]]. It is the only state organ that can adopt or amend the country's current [[communist state constitution]], which was adopted on [[Constitution of Laos|14 August 1991]] and last amended on 10 March 2025.{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1pp=218 & 238|2a1=''Vientiane Times''|2y=2025|3a1=Visapra|3y=2025}} The National Assembly is officially considered the embodiment of [[popular sovereignty]] since it is [[Elections in Laos|elected through controlled elections]] in which candidates are vetted by the [[National Election Committee (Laos)|National Election Committee]]. The LPRP, state organs, the [[Lao Front for National Development]] as the largest [[transmission belt]] mass organisation in the country, and other transmission belt mass organisations are allowed to nominate candidates to the National Election Committee, which can either approve or reject them.{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2019|1pp=766–767|2a1=International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance|2y=2025}}

The National Assembly is not a permanent organ, and in between its sessions, it is led by its [[Permanent organ of the supreme state organ of power|permanent organ]], the [[Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Laos|Standing Committee]]. As the state's highest organ, all other state organs are inferior to the National Assembly and accountable to it per democratic centralism since, according to the constitution, "The National Assembly, the Local People's Assemblies and other state organisations are established and function in accordance with the principle of democratic centralism."{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1p=234}} As a result, the National Assembly establishes all other state organs that make up the [[unified state apparatus]] per the [[division of labour of state organs]]. The Lao constitution has created the following hierarchy of state organs: the National Assembly as the highest, followed by the [[president of Laos]], the [[government of Laos]], the [[system of people's councils]] and their governments, the [[People's Supreme Court (Laos)|People's Supreme Court]], the [[People's Supreme Procuratorate (Laos)|People's Supreme Procuratorate]], the [[State Inspection Authority (Laos)|State Inspection Authority]], the [[State Audit Organisation]], and the National Election Committee. All these organs are, in theory, accountable to the National Assembly: This is a formality since, in practice, the other state organs work highly independently from it.{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1pp=766–770|2a1=''Vientiane Times''|2y=2025|3a1=''Vientiane Times''|3y=2021}}

The National Assembly and its Standing Committee are headed by a [[Chair of the National Assembly of Laos|chair]] and [[Vice Chair of the National Assembly of Laos|vice chairs]]. The chair concurrently serves ''[[ex officio]]'' as a member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the LPRP Central Committee, and the LPRP Politburo. The National Assembly is empowered to adopt and amend laws and legislation. It can decide whether Laos should approve, withdraw, or cancel international treaties. It is responsible for adopting a five-year work plan for itself and for all inferior state organs. It can rescind legislation issued by other state organs if it conflicts with adopted laws or the constitution. It also adopts a [[Economic planning systems of communist states|five-year plan for economic development]], known as the National Socio-Economic Development Plan, and a [[state budget]] plan. It has the right to hold individuals it elects or appoints to state organs accountable for their work and to check whether these individuals are implementing the policies adopted by the National Assembly. Moreover, since the National Assembly is not in permanent session, it delegates some of its powers to its Standing Committee under the constitution, and it can also delegate specific powers through a majority vote at one of its sessions. All inferior state organs and the Lao Front for National Development can propose legislation and amendments to the constitution to the National Assembly.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}} The current chair of the National Assembly and leader of its Standing Committee is [[Saysomphone Phomvihane]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vaenkeo|1y=2021}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = Thongloun Sisoulith (2019-05-30).jpg
| alt1             = Thongloun Sisoulith
| caption1          = [[Thongloun Sisoulith]],<br />[[General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party|LPRP general secretary]] and [[president of Laos|president]] since 2021
| image2            = Sonexay Siphandone (2023) (cropped).jpg
| alt2             = Sonexay Siphandone
| caption2          = [[Sonexay Siphandone]],<br />[[Prime Minister of Laos|prime minister]] since 2022
}}

The president is the Lao [[head of state]], and the officeholder concurrently serves as the LPRP general secretary. The officeholder is bound by a [[term limit]] of two consecutive [[electoral term]]s.{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1p=768}} The officeholder is empowered to [[promulgate]] the constitution and law, issue [[presidential decree|presidential edicts and decrees]], convene and preside over special sessions of the government, and attend sessions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly if deemed necessary. The president can instigate the appointment, reassignment, and removal of deputy prime ministers and members of the government, the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the Deputy People's Supreme Procurator, the vice president of the State Audit Organisation, and the vice president of the State Inspection Authority on the approval of the National Assembly. Should the president be incapacitated, the [[Vice President of Laos|vice president]] takes over his duties.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}} The incumbent president is [[Thongloun Sisoulith]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vaenkeo|1y=2021}}

The Lao government is the [[supreme executive and administrative organ|supreme executive and administrative organ of state power]] and is headed by the [[prime minister of Laos|prime minister]], who serves as [[head of government]]. The prime minister is elected by the National Assembly on the president's recommendation. Neither the prime minister nor any member of the government may serve more than two electoral terms.{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1p=768}} The members of the government are dually responsible to the president and the National Assembly, and can be removed by the National Assembly through a [[vote of no confidence]].{{sfnm|1a1=Son|1y=2020|1pp=768–769}} The government is responsible for leading state economic policy and administering the Lao state on behalf of the National Assembly and the LPRP.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}} The current prime minister is [[Sonexay Siphandone]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vaenkeo|1y=2023}}

The National Assembly heads the system of people's councils, literally the [[system of state organs of power]], that controls the state apparatus at lower levels, and these lower-level people's councils elect the people's governments at their corresponding level. People's councils exist at the provincial, district, and village levels. Their powers mirror those of the National Assembly in their own jurisdiction. The people's governments at the provincial, district, and village levels are elected by the people's councils, and are accountable to them and the government as the supreme executive and administrative organ of state power.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}} 

Laos has two judicial organs: the People's Supreme Court (PSC), the [[supreme judicial organ]], and the People's Supreme Procuratorate (PSP), the [[supreme procuratorial organ]]. Both are considered political organs because they implement the political line adopted by the National Assembly, which operates under the LPRP's leadership. The PSC, despite its formal title, is solely focused on [[adjudication]]. It heads the unified system of judicial organs and leads nationwide judicial work. The PSP monitors the implementation of the constitution and laws in all state organs and society at large. It is also empowered to initiate investigations against suspected wrongdoers and file cases against defendants in court.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}} The PSC is headed by [[Viengthong Siphandone]], and the PSP is [[Xaysana Khotphouthone]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vaenkeo|1y=2021}}

Auditing and anti-corruption work are also handled by political organs, and are the responsibility of the State Audit Organisation (SAO), the [[supreme auditing organ]], and the State Inspection Authority (SIA), the [[supreme supervisory organ]]. SAO is tasked with conducting an audit of the use of the state budget, finances, and use of state assets. It is responsible for auditing all state organs, transmission belt mass organisations, and organisations financed by the state budget, state funds, or state assets. The SAO president is responsible to the National Assembly and its permanent organ, and the prime minister.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitcharoen|1y=2019}}  The SIA leads anti-corruption work in all state organisations and organisations financed from the state budget, state funds, and state assets. The SAO is headed by President [[Viengthavisone Thephachanh]], and the SIA is headed by President [[Khamphan Phommathat]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vaenkeo|1y=2021}}

The National Election Committee (NEC) is a non-permanent organ elected by the National Assembly. It is responsible for organising the elections of the people's councils and the National Assembly. It sets the date of [[election day]], which is promulgated through a presidential decree. It is also responsible for disseminating information about the elections to the public. It also plans the composition of the National Assembly. For the [[2026 laotian legislative election|2026 elections]], for example, the NEC set a target that at least 30% of elected members were to be female.{{sfnm|1a1=Lao News Agency|1y=2025|2a1=Volakhoun|2y=2025}} The sitting NEC president is [[Chaleun Yiapaoher]], who concurrently serves as vice chair of the National Assembly.{{sfnm|1a1=Lao News Agency|1y=2025}}

===Foreign relations===
{{main|Foreign relations of Laos}}

[[File:Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ASEAN heads of state and government at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[Thongloun Sisoulith]] with Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] and [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations|ASEAN]] heads of state in New Delhi on 25 January 2018]]
The foreign relations of Laos after the takeover by the [[Pathet Lao]] in December 1975 were characterised by a hostile posture toward the West, with the government of the Lao PDR aligning itself with the [[Soviet Bloc]], maintaining ties with the Soviet Union<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laos economy set for impressive recovery |url=https://ge63.com/laos-economy |access-date=11 April 2023 |website=GE63 |date=11 April 2023 |archive-date=11 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411140612/https://ge63.com/laos-economy |url-status=live}}</ref> and depending on the Soviets for most of its foreign assistance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-7857.html|title=Laos – Foreign Aid|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430074145/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-7857.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Laos's emergence from [[international isolation]] has been marked through expanded relations with other countries including [[Russia]], [[China]], [[Thailand]], [[Australia]], [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[Japan]] and [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oec.world/en/profile/country/lao/|title=OEC – Laos (LAO) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners|website=oec.world|access-date=30 September 2019|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413192130/https://oec.world/en/profile/country/lao|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Laos–United States relations|Trade relations with the United States]] were normalised in November 2004 through Congress approved legislation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lum|first=Thomas|date=5 February 2007|title=Laos: Background and U.S. Relations|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS20931.pdf|journal=CRS Report for Congress|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308134615/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS20931.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Laos was admitted into the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations]] (ASEAN) in July 1997 and acceded to the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Laos-Trade-Agreements|title=Laos – Trade Agreements |website=export.gov|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410142811/https://www.trade.gov/export-solutions|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, it attended the inaugural [[East Asia Summit]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-summit-east-qa-idUSTRE59N0I020091024|title=Q+A – What is the East Asia Summit all about?|date=24 October 2009|work=Reuters|access-date=30 September 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308143504/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-summit-east-qa-idUSTRE59N0I020091024|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in Laos}}

Civil society advocates, human rights defenders, political and religious dissidents, and Hmong refugees have disappeared at the hands of Lao military and security forces.

Ostensibly, the [[Constitution of Laos]] that was promulgated in 1991 and amended in 2003 contains safeguards for human rights. For example, Article 8 makes it clear that Laos is a [[multinational state]] and is committed to equality between ethnic groups. The constitution contains provisions for [[gender equality]], [[freedom of religion]], [[freedom of speech]], and freedom of press and assembly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2003 Laos Constitution |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225112920/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en |url-status=live}}</ref> On 25 September 2009, Laos ratified the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], nine years after signing the treaty. The stated policy objectives of the Lao government and international donors remain focused upon achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/lao |title=Lao PDR |publisher=World Bank |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=24 July 2011 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220084200/http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/lao |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Lao PDR |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225112920/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2003.pdf?lang=en |url-status=live}}</ref>

An organisation raised concerns in relation to freedom of expression, prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of religions, protection of refugees and asylum-seekers, and the death penalty.<ref name="Amnesty International">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa26/003/2009/en/ |author=Amnesty International |date=May 2010 |title=Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: Eighth session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council |access-date=20 November 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202121/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa26/003/2009/en/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Laos has been cited as an origin country for human trafficking.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://un-act.org/lao-pdr/ |title=LAO PDR UN ACT |website=UN ACT |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729200446/http://un-act.org/lao-pdr/}}</ref> A number of citizens, primarily women and girls from ethnic groups and foreigners, have been victims of [[sex trafficking in Laos]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://m.thanhniennews.com/society/two-teenagers-rescued-from-forced-prostitution-in-laos-33562.html |title=Two teenagers rescued from forced prostitution in Laos |date=4 November 2014 |website=Thanh Nien News |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224124915/http://m.thanhniennews.com/society/two-teenagers-rescued-from-forced-prostitution-in-laos-33562.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/trafficking-10142010182720.html |title=Trafficking Racket Smashed |date=14 October 2010 |website=Radio Free Asia |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404152404/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/trafficking-10142010182720.html/ampRFA |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/58f9cad113.html |title=Chinese marriage proposals become prostitution nightmares for some Lao girls |date=13 February 2017 |website=Radio Free Asia |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308171553/https://www.refworld.org/docid/58f9cad113.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Lao government sometimes controls media channels to prevent critique of its actions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Laos: Crony scheme in control of press and civil society |url=http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/05/laos-crony-scheme-control-press-civil-society/ |website=index on censorship |date=12 May 2014 |access-date=11 July 2019 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303175155/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/05/laos-crony-scheme-control-press-civil-society/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lao citizens who have criticised the government have been subjected to enforced disappearances, arrests and torture.<ref name="state">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204213.htm|title=2012 Human Rights Reports: Laos|publisher=State.gov|access-date=9 August 2014|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624001945/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204213.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="atimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB22Ae01.html|title=Off the air in Laos|work=Asia Times Online|access-date=9 August 2014|archive-date=29 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329180831/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB22Ae01.html|url-status=unfit}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Laos}}

[[File:GDP per capita development in Laos.svg|thumb|GDP per capita development in Laos]]
The Lao economy depends on investment and trade with its neighbours, Thailand, Vietnam, and, especially in the north, China. [[Pakse|Pakxe]] has experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam. In 2009, the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] in the US declared Laos was no longer a [[communist state]] and lifted bans on Laotian companies receiving financing from the [[Export–Import Bank of the United States|US Export-Import Bank]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=2009-09-17 |title=Communism and Capitalism Are Mixing in Laos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/world/asia/18laos.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308122542/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/world/asia/18laos.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |access-date=2025-05-16 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=USA: Obama promotes Laos e Cambogia|url=https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/news/mondo/106182/usa-obama-promuove-laos-e-cambogia.html|access-date=1 June 2019|work=La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308215939/https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/news/mondo/106182/usa-obama-promuove-laos-e-cambogia.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, China was the biggest foreign investor in the Laotian economy, having invested US$5.395&nbsp;billion since 1989, according to the Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment's 1989–2014 report. Thailand (invested US$4.489&nbsp;billion) and Vietnam (invested US$3.108&nbsp;billion) are the second and third largest investors respectively.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://asiatimes.com/article/china-top-foreign-investor-behind-laos-fast-growth/|title=Out of obscurity|last=Lowe|first=Sandra|date=10 December 2016|work=Asia Times|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-date=13 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013074849/https://asiatimes.com/2016/12/china-top-foreign-investor-behind-laos-fast-growth/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{update inline|date=July 2025}}

[[Subsistence agriculture]] accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80% of employment. 4% of the country is arable land and 0.3% used as permanent crop land,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2097.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219174755/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2097.html |archive-date=19 December 2018 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.cia.gov}}</ref> the lowest percentage in the [[Greater Mekong Subregion]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-11-17 |title=About Greater Mekong Subregion |publisher=Asian Development Bank |url=http://beta.adb.org/countries/gms/main |access-date=2025-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117130328/http://beta.adb.org/countries/gms/main |archive-date=2011-11-17}}</ref> The irrigated areas account for 28% of the total area under cultivation which, in turn, represents 12% of all of the agricultural land in 2012.<ref>Kyophilavong, Phouphet, et al. "Effects of AFTA on poverty: Evidence from Laos." ''Journal of Economic Integration'' (2016): 353–376.</ref> Rice dominates agriculture, with about 80% of the arable land area used for growing rice.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070628094304/http://www.irri.org/donors/SDC/pdfs/RiceFabricOf%20LifeInLaos.pdf Rice: The Fabric of Life in Laos]. Lao_IRRI Project</ref> Approximately 77% of Lao farm households are self-sufficient in rice.<ref>Barclay, Adam and Shrestha, Samjhana (April–June 2006) [https://web.archive.org/web/20061012050925/http://www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/5-2/22-27.pdf "Genuinely Lao"], ''Rice Today''.</ref>

Laos imports petroleum and gas. [[Metallurgy]] is an industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to develop the deposits of [[coal]], [[gold]], [[bauxite]], [[tin]], [[copper]], and other metals. The [[mining industry of Laos]] has received attention with foreign direct investments. More than 540 mineral deposits of gold, copper, [[zinc]], [[lead]] and other minerals have been identified, explored and mined.<ref name="Kyophilvong">{{Cite web|last=Kyophilvong|first=Phouphet|title=Mining Sector in Laos|url=http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Download/Brc/pdf/02_ch3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106165900/http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Download/Brc/pdf/02_ch3.pdf|archive-date=6 January 2013|access-date=29 November 2015|publisher=Institute of Developing Economies|page=69}}</ref> The country's water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export quantities of hydroelectric energy.<ref>Vakulchuk, R., Chan, H.Y., Kresnawan, M.R., Merdekawati, M., Overland, I., Sagbakken, H.F., Suryadi, B., Utama, N.A. and Yurnaidi, Z., 2020. Lao PDR: How to Attract More Investment in Small-Scale Renewable Energy? ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) Policy Brief Series, No 7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341793965</ref> Of the potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, around 8,000 megawatts have been committed for export to Thailand and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/LAO/40514-LAO-TAR.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515093014/http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/LAO/40514-LAO-TAR.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2011 |title=Preparing the Cumulative Impact Assessment for the Nam Ngum 3 Hydropower Project: Financed by the Japan Special Fund |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> As of 2021, Laos continues to rely on fossil fuels, coal in particular, in domestic electricity production.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Overland |first1=Indra |last2=Sagbakken |first2=Haakon Fossum |last3=Chan |first3=Hoy-Yen |last4=Merdekawati |first4=Monika |last5=Suryadi |first5=Beni |last6=Utama |first6=Nuki Agya |last7=Vakulchuk |first7=Roman |title=The ASEAN climate and energy paradox |journal=Energy and Climate Change |date=December 2021 |volume=2 |article-number=100019 |doi=10.1016/j.egycc.2020.100019 |hdl=11250/2734506 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
In 2018, the country [[List of countries by Human Development Index|ranked 139th]] on the [[Human Development Index]] (HDI), indicating medium development.<ref name="UNDP">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/LAO.pdf|title=Briefing note for countries on the 2015 Human Development Report – Laos|publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]]|access-date=26 December 2015|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101054812/http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/LAO.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[Global Hunger Index]] (2018), Laos ranks as the 36th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation(s).<ref>[http://ghi.ifpri.org/ 2015 Global Hunger Index] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831100148/http://ghi.ifpri.org/ |date=31 August 2018}}, [[International Food Policy Research Institute]] (IFPRI)</ref> In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights conducted an official visit to Laos and found that the country's top-down approach to economic growth and poverty alleviation "is all too often counterproductive, leading to impoverishment and jeopardising the rights of the poor and marginalised."<ref name="OHCHR March 2019">{{cite web|last1=Alston|first1=Philip|author-link1=Philip Alston|title=UN expert: Lao PDR's economic strategy entrenches poverty|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24416&LangID=E|publisher=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]|access-date=11 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611154553/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24416&LangID=E|archive-date=11 June 2019|location=[[Vientiane]]|date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A product, [[Beerlao]], was exported in 2017 to more than 20 countries worldwide. It is produced by the [[Lao Brewery Company]].<ref>{{cite web|date=14 August 2017|title=The Heart of ASEAN sets pulses racing|url=https://panoramagroup.com/reports/2017_Laos_report.pdf|access-date=2 August 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923155211/https://panoramagroup.com/reports/2017_Laos_report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Laos}}

[[File:ViewFromWatPhu.JPG|thumb|Near the sanctuary on the upper level of [[Vat Phou]], looking back towards the [[Mekong River]] ]]

The tourism sector has grown from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876&nbsp;million in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-data-search-tool/ |title=International visitor data |publisher=World Travel & Tourism Council |access-date=20 January 2011 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702142820/http://wttc.org/research/economic-data-search-tool/ |url-status=live}}</ref> when tourism had been expected to rise to US$1.5857&nbsp;billion by 2020. In 2010, 1 in every 11 jobs was in the tourism sector. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 16% of total exports or US$270.3&nbsp;million in 2010, growing in nominal terms to US$484.2&nbsp;million (12.5% of the total) in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wttc.org/eng/Tourism_Research/Economic_Research/Country_Reports/Laos/|title=Laos – Key Facts|publisher=World Travel & Tourism Council|access-date=20 January 2011|archive-date=11 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511074239/http://www.wttc.org/eng/Tourism_Research/Economic_Research/Country_Reports/Laos/}}</ref> The European Council on Trade and Tourism awarded the country the "World Best Tourist Destination" designation for 2013 for architecture and history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON TOURISM AND TRADE DELEGATION VISIT TO LAOS-WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION |url=http://ectt.webs.com/apps/blog/show/26368358-european-council-on-tourism-and-trade-delegation-visit-to-laos-world-best-tourist-destination |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928103822/https://ectt.webs.com/apps/blog/show/26368358-european-council-on-tourism-and-trade-delegation-visit-to-laos-world-best-tourist-destination |archive-date=28 September 2023 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON TOURISM AND TRADE |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, tourist numbers topped 5 million, contributing over US$1 billion to the economy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sitthixay |first=Phonethida |date=2024-11-19 |title=Laos Welcomes Over Five Million Tourists in 2024, Generating Over USD 1 Billion |url=https://laotiantimes.com/2024/11/19/laos-welcomes-over-five-million-tourists-in-2024-generating-over-usd-1-billion/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Laotian Times}}</ref>

The [[National Tourism Administration (Laos)|Lao National Tourism Administration]], related government agencies and the private sector are working together to realise the vision put forth in the country's National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan. This includes decreasing the environmental and cultural impact of tourism; increasing awareness in the importance of ethnic groups and biological diversity; providing a source of income to conserve, sustain and manage the Lao protected area network and cultural heritage sites; and emphasising the need for tourism zoning and management plans for sites that will be developed as [[ecotourism]] destinations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/laoecotourism.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122030330/http://ecotourismlaos.com/laoecotourism.htm|archive-date=22 November 2010|title=The Lao People's Democratic Republic's Vision for Ecotourism |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref>

=== Transportation ===
{{Main|Transport in Laos|Telecommunications in Laos}}

[[File:nam ou 1.jpg|thumb|Rivers are a means of transport in Laos.]]

The mountainous [[geography of Laos]] had impeded Laos's ground transportation development throughout the 20th century. Its first railway line, a 3-km long [[metre-gauge]] railway that connects [[Thanaleng railway station|southern Vientiane]] to Thailand, opened in 2009. In December 2021, the 422-km long [[Boten–Vientiane railway]] that runs from the capital [[Vientiane railway station|Vientiane]] to [[Boten railway station|Boten]] at the northern border with China, built as part of China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]], was opened.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/chinas-bri-and-its-high-speed-railways-to-nowhere/#:~:text=Announced%20in%202015%2C%20a%20414,operational%20some%20time%20in%202022.|title=China's BRI and its High-Speed Railways to Nowhere|access-date=21 January 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520133519/https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/chinas-bri-and-its-high-speed-railways-to-nowhere/#:~:text=Announced%20in%202015%2C%20a%20414,operational%20some%20time%20in%202022.|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=21 December 2021 |title=The Completed China-Laos Railway |url=https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/the-completed-china-laos-railway/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512130726/https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/the-completed-china-laos-railway/ |archive-date=12 May 2022 |access-date=18 May 2022 |website=ASEAN Business News}}</ref>

There is external and internal telecommunication. 93% of households have a telephone, either fixed line or mobile.<ref name="LSIS-II" />{{RP|8}} Electricity is available to 93% of the population.<ref name="LSIS-II" />{{RP|8}}

=== Water supply ===
{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Laos}}

According to the [[World Bank]] data conducted in 2014, Laos has met the [[Millennium Development Goals|Millennium Development Goal]] (MDG) targets on water and sanitation regarding the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme. As of 2018, there are approximately 1.9&nbsp;million of Lao's population who could not access an improved water supply and 2.4&nbsp;million people without access to improved sanitation.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295731467999376153/pdf/100892-WSP-P131116-AUTHOR-Susanna-Smets-Box393244B-PUBLIC-WSP-SERIES-WSP-LaoPDR-WSS-Turning-Finance-into-Service-for-the-Future.pdf|title=Water Supply and Sanitation in Lao PDR|website=worldbank.org|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=20 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820000057/http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295731467999376153/pdf/100892-WSP-P131116-AUTHOR-Susanna-Smets-Box393244B-PUBLIC-WSP-SERIES-WSP-LaoPDR-WSS-Turning-Finance-into-Service-for-the-Future.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Laos has made progress increasing access to [[sanitation]].<ref name="ODI1">{{Cite web |title=Lao PDR's progress in rural sanitation {{!}} Development Progress |url=http://www.developmentprogress.org/progress-stories/lao-pdrs-progress-rural-sanitation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915164756/http://www.developmentprogress.org/progress-stories/lao-pdrs-progress-rural-sanitation |archive-date=15 September 2013 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.developmentprogress.org |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1990 8% of the rural population had access to improved sanitation.<ref name="ODI1"/> Access rose from 10% in 1995 to 38% in 2008. Between 1995 and 2008, approximately 1,232,900 more people had access to improved sanitation in rural areas.<ref name="ODI1"/> The authorities in Laos have developed an innovative regulatory framework for public–private partnership contracts signed with enterprises, in parallel with more conventional regulation of state-owned water enterprises.<ref>{{cite web|author=Laponche, Bernard|display-authors=etal|year=2008|title=Focales n° 8. Energy Efficiency Retrofitting of Buildings – Challenges and Methods|url=http://www.afd.fr/lang/en/home/publications/travaux-de-recherche/publications-scientifiques/focales|access-date=17 February 2011|publisher=afd.fr|format=PDF|archive-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809195444/http://www.afd.fr/lang/en/home/publications/travaux-de-recherche/publications-scientifiques/focales|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Laos}}

[[Image:Laos-demography.png|thumb|300px|right|Population graph of Laos, number of inhabitants in millions between 1800 and 2021 ([[Our World in Data]] data, 2022)]]
The population of Laos in 2024 is estimated to be 7,953,556, with 3,966,320 males and 3,987,236 females, according to [[The World Factbook]]. This makes Laos the 103rd most populous country in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Laos |date=7 May 2025|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/ |access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref>

=== Ethnicity ===
The people of Laos are categorised by their distribution by [[elevation]] (lowlands, midlands and upper high lands), as this somewhat correlates with ethnic groupings. More than half of the nation's population is ethnic Lao—the principal lowland inhabitants.<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks">{{cite web| url = http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001| title = UN Demographic Yearbooks| access-date = 30 November 2018| archive-date = 27 December 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161227194033/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001| url-status = live}}</ref> The Lao belong to the [[Tai languages|Tai]] linguistic group<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Diller |first1=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lmQAgAAQBAJ&dq=kra=Kadai&pg=PA6 |title=The Tai-Kadai Languages |last2=Edmondson |first2=Jerry |last3=Luo |first3=Yongxian |date=2004-11-30 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-79116-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140148/https://books.google.com/books?id=0lmQAgAAQBAJ&dq=kra%3DKadai&pg=PA6 |archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> who began migrating south from China in the first millennium AD.<ref>[http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627063518/http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |date=27 June 2015}}. ''MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities,'' Special Issue No 20: 47–64.</ref> 10% belong to other "lowland" groups, which together with the Lao people make up the [[Lao Loum]] (lowland people).<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks"/>

In the central and southern mountains, [[Mon-Khmer]]-speaking groups, known as [[Lao Theung]] or mid-slope Laotians, predominate. Other terms are Khmu, Khamu (Kammu) or Kha as the Lao Loum refer to them to indicate their [[Austroasiatic]] language affiliation. The latter is considered pejorative, meaning 'slave'. They were the indigenous inhabitants of northern Laos. Some [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]], [[Laotian Chinese]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno%3D1163%26no%3D1163%26level%3DB |title=Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.o.c. |access-date=23 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104195124/http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno=1163&no=1163&level=B |archive-date=4 January 2011}}</ref> and [[Thai people|Thai]] minorities remain, particularly in the towns, and some left after independence in the 1940s, some of whom relocated either to Vietnam, Hong Kong, or to France. Lao Theung constitute about 30% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.omf.org/omf/us/peoples_and_places/people_groups/khmu_of_laos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109063510/http://www.omf.org/omf/us/peoples_and_places/people_groups/khmu_of_laos |archive-date=9 November 2007 |title=Khmu people of Laos. OMF International |publisher=Omf.org |access-date=23 January 2011}}</ref>

[[Hill people]] and minority cultures of Laos such as the [[Hmong people|Hmong]], [[Yao people (Asia)|Yao (Mien)]] ([[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]), [[Yao people (Asia)|Dao]], [[Shan people|Shan]], and [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for years. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos, which include the [[Lua people|Lua]] and [[Khmu people]] who are indigenous to Laos. Collectively, they are known as [[Lao Sung|Lao Soung]] or highland Laotians. Lao Soung account for about 10% of the population.<ref name="britannica" />

=== Languages ===
The official language is [[Lao language|Lao]], a language of the [[Tai languages|Tai-Kadai]] language family. More than half of the population speaks Lao fluently. The remainder, particularly in rural areas, speak ethnic minority languages. The [[Lao alphabet]], which evolved sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries, was derived from the [[Khmer script]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/2049433|jstor=2049433|title=Languages and Literatures of Indochina|journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly|volume=6|issue=4|pages=379–389|year=1947|last1=Benedict|first1=Paul K.|s2cid=162902327}}</ref> Languages like [[Khmu language|Khmu]] (Austroasiatic) and [[Hmong language|Hmong]] ([[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]) are spoken by minorities, particularly in the midland and highland areas. A number of [[Laotian sign languages]] are used in areas with higher rates of congenital deafness.<ref name=britannica />

[[French language|French]] is used in government and commerce, and Laos is a member of the French-speaking organisation of [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|La Francophonie]]. The organisation estimated in 2010 that there were 173,800 French speakers in Laos.<ref>{{cite web |title=Laos |url=https://www.francophonie.org/laos-968 |publisher=La Francophonie |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518191146/https://www.francophonie.org/laos-968 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[English language|English]], the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ([[ASEAN]]), has become increasingly studied.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/asie/Laos.htm |title=Languages of Laos |publisher=[[Laval University]] |access-date=9 July 2012 |archive-date=27 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027231143/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/asie/Laos.htm}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Laos}}

[[File:Vat_Nong_Sikhounmuang.jpg|right|thumb|Wat Nong Sikhounmuang pagoda in [[Luang Prabang]]]]
66% of Laotians were [[Theravada]] Buddhist, 1.5% Christian, 0.1% Muslim, 0.1% Jewish, and 32.3% were other or traditional (mostly practitioners of [[Tai folk religion|Satsana Phi]]) in 2010.<ref name="globalReligion">{{cite web |title=Global Religious Landscape; Table: Religious Composition by Country |url=https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf |website=Pew Research |access-date=16 April 2020 |page=47 |date=2010 |archive-date=23 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323215031/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cia.gov">{{Citation |title=Laos |date=2025-05-14 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307193820/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/ |archive-date=7 March 2021 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref>

=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in Laos}}

[[File:VientianeHospital.jpg|thumb|[[Mahosot Hospital]] in Vientiane]]
Male [[life expectancy at birth]] was at 67,4 years and female life expectancy was at 70,7 years in 2025.{{sfnm|1a1=Central Intelligence Agency|1y=2025}} Healthy life expectancy was 54 years in 2007.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org">{{cite web|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_LAO.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707000524/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_LAO.html|archive-date=7 July 2010|title=Human Development Report 2009. Lao People's Democratic Republic |publisher=HDRstats.undp.org |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> Government expenditure on health is about 4% of GDP,<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> about US$18 (PPP) in 2006.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Laos}}

{{See also|National Library of Laos}}
[[File:National University of Laos(NUOL)ມ.ຊ - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[National University of Laos]] in Vientiane]]

The adult [[literacy]] rate for women in 2017 was 62.9%; for adult men, 78.1%.<ref name="LSIS-II">{{cite book|title=Lao Social Indicator Survey II 2017, Survey Findings Report|date=2018|publisher=Lao Statistics Bureau and UNICEF|location=Vientiane|url=https://laopdr.un.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/2017%20MICS%20Social%20Indicator%20Survey%20II%20Survey_Findings%20Report_0.pdf|access-date=26 January 2021|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429023811/https://laopdr.un.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/2017%20MICS%20Social%20Indicator%20Survey%20II%20Survey_Findings%20Report_0.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{RP|39–40}}

In 2004, the net primary enrolment rate was 84%.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> Laos was ranked 109th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/lao-people-s-democratic-republic |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Laos}}

{{See also|Lao art|Laotian society|List of festivals in Laos|Music of Laos}}

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Lao cuisine}}

[[File:3 Nagas Feast.jpg|thumb|An example of [[Lao cuisine]] ]]
[[Glutinous rice|Sticky rice]] is a staple food. There are traditions and rituals associated with rice production in environments and among ethnic groups. For example, Khammu farmers in Luang Prabang plant the rice variety ''khao kam'' in quantities near the farm house in memory of dead parents, or at the edge of the rice field to indicate that parents are alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adb.org/Evaluation/case-studies/LAO/Evaluation-Synthesis-on-Rice.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702234215/http://www.adb.org/Evaluation/case-studies/LAO/Evaluation-Synthesis-on-Rice.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2007|title=Evaluation Synthesis of Rice in Lao PDR|access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref>

A dish is ''[[larb]]'' in which chopped meat is blended with toasted rice and then seasoned with herbs, fish sauce, and lime.<ref>{{cite web |title=Southeast Asian Cuisine: What to Eat in Southeast Asia and Where to Find It |url=https://www.tripsavvy.com/southeast-asian-cuisine-1458385 |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=tripsavvy |publication-date=26 June 2019}}</ref>

=== Cinema ===
{{Main|Cinema of Laos}}

The first feature-length film made after the monarchy was abolished is ''Gun Voice from the Plain of Jars'' directed by Somchith Pholsena in 1983 and its release was prevented by a censorship board.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Southiponh, Som Ock |author2=Gerow, Aaron |title=Starting an Asian Cinema: Laos Past and Present |journal=Documentary Box |date=1999 |volume=12 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dt9kAAAAMAAJ |access-date=1 January 2019 |publisher=Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140149/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dt9kAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> A commercial feature-length film was ''[[Sabaidee Luang Prabang]]'', made in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/good-morning-luang-prabang-ndash-and-hello-to-laoss-film-industry-843557.html|title=Good Good Morning, Luang Prabang – and hello to Laos's film industry|last=Buncomb|first=Andrew|work=The Independent|date=10 June 2010|access-date=22 May 2014|archive-date=3 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403212836/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/good-morning-luang-prabang-ndash-and-hello-to-laoss-film-industry-843557.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2017 documentary feature film ''[[Blood Road (film)|Blood Road]]'' was predominantly shot and produced in Laos with assistance from the Lao government. It was recognised with a [[News & Documentary Emmy Award|News and Documentary Emmy Award]] in 2018.<ref>{{Citation|title=Blood Road|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6900092/|access-date=19 April 2020|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624003146/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6900092/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Australian filmmaker Kim Mordount's first feature film was made in Laos and features a Laotian cast speaking their native language. Entitled ''[[The Rocket (2013 film)|The Rocket]]'', the film appeared at the 2013 [[Melbourne International Film Festival]] and won three awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|title=Q&A with director Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket)|url=http://miff.com.au/kimmorduant|work=Melbourne International Film Festival|publisher=MIFF|date=August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005004244/http://miff.com.au/kimmorduant|archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref> Examples of Lao feature films that have received international recognition include Lao New Wave Cinema's ''At the Horizon'', directed by Anysay Keola, which was screened at the OzAsia Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-18770068|title=A tale of revenge in Laos challenges censors|last=Catt|first=Georgia|website=BBC News|date=22 August 2012|access-date=22 May 2014|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624001805/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-18770068|url-status=live}}</ref> and Lao Art Media's ''[[Chanthaly]]'' ([[Lao language|Lao]]: ຈັນທະລີ), directed by [[Mattie Do]], which was screened at the 2013 [[Fantastic Fest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fantasticfest.com/films/chanthaly|title=Chanthaly|publisher=Fantastic Fest|date=2013|access-date=15 May 2014|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624004140/https://fantasticfest.com/films/chanthaly|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2013/09/fantastic-fest-2013-review-chanthaly-is-a-haunting-portrait-of-modern-day-laos.html|title=Fantastic Fest 2013 Review: Chanthaly is A Haunting Portrait of Modern Day Laos|last=Marsh|first=James|work=ScreenAnarchy|date=26 September 2013|access-date=7 January 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028114355/https://screenanarchy.com/2013/09/fantastic-fest-2013-review-chanthaly-is-a-haunting-portrait-of-modern-day-laos.html|archive-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> In September 2017, Laos submitted ''[[Dearest Sister]]'' ([[Lao language|Lao]]: ນ້ອງຮັກ), Mattie Do's second feature film, to the [[90th Academy Awards]] (or the Oscars) for consideration for [[List of submissions to the 90th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]], marking the country's first submission for the Oscars.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/asia/laos-dearest-sister-first-foreign-language-oscar-film-1202563352/|title=Laos Selects 'Dearest Sister' as First Foreign-Language Oscar Submission|last=Frater|first=Patrick|date=19 September 2017|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624003212/https://variety.com/2017/film/asia/laos-dearest-sister-first-foreign-language-oscar-film-1202563352/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2018, Laos has three theatres dedicated to showing films.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brzeski|first1=Patrick|title=Cannes: Southeast Asia Is Ready for Its Big-Screen Close-up|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/cannes-southeast-asia-is-ready-big-screen-close-up-1110530|access-date=1 January 2019|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|publisher=Valence Media|date=9 May 2018|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624001857/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/cannes-southeast-asia-is-ready-big-screen-close-up-1110530|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Festivals ===
[[File:Lao New Year, dancers.jpg|thumb|Lao dancers during the [[New Year]] celebration ]]
There are public holidays, festivities and ceremonies in Laos.
*Hmong New Year (Nopejao)
*Bun Pha Wet
*Magha Puja
*Chinese New Year
*Boun Khoun Khao
*Boun Pimai
*Boun Bang Fai (Rocket festival)
*Visakha Puja
*Pi Mai/Songkran (Lao New Year)
*Khao Phansaa
*Haw Khao Padap Din
*Awk Phansaa
*Bun Nam
*Lao National Day (2 December)<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 November 2016 |title=Laos'un Festivalleri |trans-title=Festivals of Laos |url=https://gezimanya.com/asya/laosun-festivalleri |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308151547/https://gezimanya.com/asya/laosun-festivalleri |archive-date=8 March 2021 |access-date=6 March 2018 |work=Gezimanya |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.visit-laos.com/festivals.htm|title=Laos Festivals & Events|work=visit-laos.com|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615025833/http://www.visit-laos.com/festivals.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sport ===
The martial art of [[muay Lao]], the national sport,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goabroad.net/Brooklynmonk/journals/1197/Muay-Lao,-the-forgotten-art-of-kickboxing|title=Muay Lao, the forgotten art of kickboxing|last=Graceffo|website=GoAbroad Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415230120/http://www.goabroad.net/Brooklynmonk/journals/1197/Muay-Lao,-the-forgotten-art-of-kickboxing|archive-date=15 April 2018}}</ref> is a form of kickboxing similar to Thailand's [[muay Thai]], Burmese [[Lethwei]] and Cambodian [[Pradal Serey]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Thailand – Sports and recreation |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/Sports-and-recreation |access-date=26 January 2020 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624002018/https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/Sports-and-recreation |url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Laos|Asia|Geography}}
*[[Drug policy in Laos]]
*[[Energy in Laos]]
*[[Outline of Laos]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Books===
{{refbegin|100em}}
* {{cite book | author-last1 = Bestari | author-first1 = Njoman George | author-last2 = Mongcopa | author-first2 = Caren Joy | author-last3 = Samson | author-first3 = Jindra | author-last4 = Ward | author-first4 = Keith | title = Lao PDR: Governance Issues in Agriculture and Natural Resources  |year=2006|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]]|access-date=21 July 2025|url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/evaluation-document/35925/files/governance-issues-lao.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250721054840/https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/evaluation-document/35925/files/governance-issues-lao.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2025}}
* {{cite book | author-last1 = Croissant | author-first1 = Aurel | title = Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia: An Introduction to Governments and Political Regimes |year=2022|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|isbn=978-3-031-05116-6|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-05114-2}}
* {{cite book | author-last1 = Gunn | author-first1 = Geoffrey C. | author-link1 = | title = Theravadins, Colonialists, and Commissars in Laos |year=1998|publisher=[[White Lotus Press]]|isbn=9789748434391}}
* {{cite book | author = High |first= Holly | year = 2014 | title = Fields of Desire: Poverty and Policy in Laos | publisher = [[Singapore University Press]] | isbn = 978-9971-69-770-9}}
* {{cite book | author-last1 = Pholsena | author-first1 = Vatthana | title = Post-war Laos: The Politics of Culture, History and Identity |year=2006|publisher=[[Institute of Southeast Asian Studies]]|isbn=978-0-8014-7320-3}}
* {{cite book | author = Son|first= Bui Ngoc | year = 2020 | title = Constitutional Change in the Contemporary Socialist World | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-19-885134-9}}
* {{cite book | author = Stuart-Fox|first= Martin | year = 2002 | title = Buddhist Kingdom, Marxist State: The Making of Modern Laos | publisher = [[University of Michigan]] | edition = 2nd | isbn = 978-9748496481 }}
{{refend}}

===Book chapters===
{{refbegin|100em}}
* {{cite book |author-last1=Brown |author-first1=MacAlister |editor-last1=Stuart-Fox |editor-first1=Martin |editor-link1=Martin Stuart-Fox |chapter=The Communist Seizure of Power in Laos |pp=17–38 |title=Contemporary Laos: Studies in the Politics and Society of the Lao People's Democratic Republic |year=1982 |publisher=[[University of Queensland Press]] |isbn=0-312-16676-1}}
* {{cite book |author-last1=Norindr |author-first1=Chou |editor-last1=Stuart-Fox |editor-first1=Martin |editor-link1=Martin Stuart-Fox |chapter=Political Institutions of the Lao People's Democratic Republic |pp=39–61 |title=Contemporary Laos: Studies in the Politics and Society of the Lao People's Democratic Republic |year=1982 |publisher=[[University of Queensland Press]] |isbn=0-312-16676-1}}
{{refend}}

===Dissertations===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite thesis |author1=Punya |first=Supitcha |date=January 2019 |title=Restructuring Domestic Institutions: Democratization and Development in Laos |publisher=[[Humboldt University of Berlin]] |url=https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/18452/21324/dissertation_punya_supitcha.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y}}
* {{cite thesis |author1=Soukamneuth |first=Bounlonh J. |date=August 2006 |title=The Political Economy of Transition in Laos: From Peripheral Socialism to the Margins of Global Capital |publisher=[[Cornell University]] |url=https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/18452/21324/dissertation_punya_supitcha.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y}}
{{refend}}

===Journal entries===
{{refbegin|100em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Creak |first1=S. |last2=Sayalath |first2=S. |url=https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/191260/SEAA-17%20-%20Laos%20%28Soulatha%20and%20Creak%29-final.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y |year=2017 |title=Regime Renewal in Laos: The Tenth Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party |journal=[[Southeast Asian Affairs]] |pages=177–200 |doi=10.1355/9789814762878-014 |s2cid=157560697}}
* {{cite journal |author-last1=Rehbein |author-first1=Boike |author-link1= |title=Laos on the Path to Socialism? |volume= |issue= |journal=[[Southeast Asian Affairs]] |pages=165–176 |year=2019 |doi=10.1163/25427466-07010003 |jstor=26939693}}
* {{cite journal |author-last1=Son |author-first1=Bui Ngoc |author-link1= |title=Constitutional amendment in Laos |volume=17 |issue=3 |journal=[[International Journal of Constitutional Law]] |pages=756–786 |year=2019 |doi=10.1093/icon/moz067}}
{{refend}}

===Web articles===
{{refbegin|100em}}
* {{cite web |author-last1= |author-first1= |title=Laos |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|United States Central Intelligence Agency]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/ |date=18 December 2015 |accessdate=28 December 2015 |archive-date=18 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251218050002/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/laos/ |ref=CITEREFCentral_Intelligence_Agency2025}}
*  {{cite web |author-last= |author-first= |title=Electoral system for national legislature: Lao People's Dem. Republic |url=https://www.idea.int/answer/ans9380532843958 |publisher=[[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance]] |date= |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=29 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251229170015/https://www.idea.int/answer/ans9380532843958 |url-status=live |ref=CITEREFInternational Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance2025}}
*  {{cite web |author-last= |author-first= |title=Lao PDR Sets February 22, 2026, for National and Provincial Elections |url=https://kpl.gov.la/En/detail.aspx?id=95854 |publisher=[[Lao News Agency]] |date=3 December 2025 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=29 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251229164942/https://kpl.gov.la/En/detail.aspx?id=95854 |url-status=live |ref=CITEREFLao_News_Agency2025}}
*  {{cite web |author-last=Douangsatcha |author-first=Ratsamy |title=ຊົມເຊີຍຜົນສໍາເລັດ ກອງປະຊຸມໃຫຢ ຄັງທີ XI ຂອງພັກຢ່າງສຸດໃຈ |trans-title=Heartfelt Congratulations on the Success of the 11th Party Congress |url=https://www.bol.gov.la/fileupload/21-01-2021_1611196631.pdf |publisher=[[Bank of the Lao P.D.R.]] |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=30 December 2025 |archive-date=30 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251230090040/https://www.bol.gov.la/fileupload/21-01-2021_1611196631.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Laos1.html#_edn162 |title=UPDATE: Legal System of the Lao People's Democratic Republic |author-last=Kitcharoen |author-first=Tuchakorn |access-date=23 January 2021 |date=July–August 2019 |publisher=[[Hauser Global Law School Program]] of the [[New York University School of Law]]}}
*  {{cite web |author-last=Vaenkeo |author-first=Souksakhone |title=Dr Sonexay Siphandone elected new PM as Laos faces greatest challenges in decades |url=https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten01_Dr_Sonexay_y23.php |work=[[Vientiane Times]] |date=3 January 2023 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519044350/https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten01_Dr_Sonexay_y23.php |url-status=live}}
*  {{cite web |author-last=Vaenkeo |author-first=Souksakhone |title=NA closes with state leaders elected, development targets approved |url=https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_NA_61.php |work=[[Vientiane Times]] |date=29 March 2021 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=30 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250630175209/https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_NA_61.php |url-status=live}}
*  {{cite web |author-last= |author-first= |title=Changes to constitution seek to enhance state inspection, fight corruption |url=https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent_019_changes_y25.php |work=[[Vientiane Times]] |date=28 January 2025 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=27 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127152826/http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent_019_changes_y25.php |url-status=live |ref=CITEREFVientiane_Times2025}}
*  {{cite web |author-last= |author-first= |title=State inspection body to have more independence |url=https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_State60.php |work=[[Vientiane Times]] |date=26 March 2021 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=28 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628025354/http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_State60.php |url-status=live |ref=CITEREFVientiane_Times2021}}
*  {{cite web |author-last=Volakhoun |author-first=Phonepaseuth |title=Election day set for February 22 |url=https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent_234_Election_y25.php |work=[[Vientiane Times]] |date=4 December 2025 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=29 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251229165345/https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent_234_Election_y25.php |url-status=live}}
*  {{cite web |author-last=Visapra |author-first=Phontham |title=Laos Approves Government Restructuring, Key Constitutional Amendments |url=https://laotiantimes.com/2025/03/21/laos-approves-government-restructuring-key-constitutional-amendments/ |work=[[Laotian Times]] |date=21 March 2025 |access-date=29 December 2025 |archive-date=25 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525104008/https://laotiantimes.com/2025/03/21/laos-approves-government-restructuring-key-constitutional-amendments/ |url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

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