Laos

Laos is a landlocked country located in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma (Myanmar) and China to the northwest, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west.

Fast Facts:

1. Capital: Vientiane
2. Government: Socialist Republic
3. Population: 6,521,998 2007 estimate
4. Currency: Kip (LAK)
5. Exchange Rate: 1 Lao Kip = 0.0001120 US Dollar
6. Official Language: Lao
7. Other cities: Vang Vieng, Luang Prubang

Background

The history of Laos stretches back to the ancient kingdom of Lan Xang, which had influence over major parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand. Part of French Indochina until 1907, modern-day Laos replaced a six-century old monarchy in 1975 with a one-party Communist regime allied with Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese forces travelled through Laos to reach South Vietnam along the "Ho Chi Minh Trail", and today, unexploded ordnance and mines from the conflict remain buried in the countryside, and still occasionally maim and kill residents.

Terrain and Climate

The southwest border of Laos with Thailand is defined entirely by the Mekong River, a major Southeast Asian waterway that subsequently passes through Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea. Most of the terrain of Laos is thickly forested and mountainous, and the climate is tropical and marked with heavy monsoons during the rainy season.

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