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Where is Laos?
About Laos
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media

Laos is an above average size country in the south east of mainland Asia.

Laos is a landlocked country with no coastal borders.

The land is mostly rugged mountains.

The geographical coordinates for the centre of Laos, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 18 00N
Longitude - 105 00E

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Check the weather in Vientiane now.

This is the time in Vientiane now

The Lao flag is 3 horizontal stripes of red, a double width blue and another red. A large white disc is centred on the blue stripe.

The capital of Laos is Vientiane.

Laos is a communist state with a president as head of state and head of the government.

In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.

The currency in Laos is the kip.

Lao is the official language.

Hear the National Anthem


These are the anthem words

The words ×

These are the words to the Lao National Anthem called Hymn Of The Lao People. It was adopted as the National Anthem in 1947 with the current lyrics coming into use in 1975. This is a translation of the words.

If anthem fails to play click here

For all time the Lao people have glorified their Fatherland,
United in heart, spirit and vigour as one.
Resolutely and increasing the dignity of the Lao people
And proclaiming the right to be their own masters.
The Lao people of all origins are equal
And will no longer allow imperialists and traitors to harm them.
The entire people will safeguard the independence
And the freedom of the Lao nation.
They are resolved to struggle for victory
In order to lead the nation to prosperity.

We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Laos to provide us with a detailed history of their own country. Check how here.


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The total land area of Laos is 230,800 sq kms which is the 23rd largest in Asia.

Laos has lakes, rivers and canals which total 6,000 sq kms.

Laos has boundaries with 5 countries

• Vietnam 2,161 683 kms
• Thailand 1,845 kms
• Cambodia 555 kms
• China 475 kms
• Burma 238 kms

Laos has no coastline.

The highest point in Laos is Phu Bia at 2,817 metres.

The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.

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The total population of Laos is 7.02 million people, making it the 32nd largest country in Asia by population.

Of this number 3.54 million are females and 3.48 million are males.

A person from Laos is called a Lao.

To be a citizen of Laos, one of your parents must be a citizen of Laos. It is not sufficient to be born in Laos. You have to live in Laos for 10 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.

The largest five cities in Laos, by population are:-

• Vientiane 196,731 people
• Pakse 88,332
• Thakhek 89,000
• Savannakhét 66,553
• Luang Prabang 47,378

For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre. Each little Owlbut is 1 person and the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.



38.6% of the people live in cities or towns.

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The birth rate in Laos is 23.9 births per 1,000 of population

The death rate in Laos is 7.5 deaths per 1,000 people.

Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.

There are 45.8 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 56.8 deaths of boys.

The median age for females is 23.3 and for males is 22.7. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number of people above the median age as below it.

We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.

The elderly dependency ratio is 6.2. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).

The potential support ratio is 16.1. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.

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Laos spends 1.9% of its total income on health care.

There are 0.18 doctors per 1,000 people.

There are 1.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.

5.3% of the population are estimated as obese.

85.6% of the urban population and 69.4% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or protected rainwater collection facility.

94.5% of the urban population and 56.0% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.

Laos releases 0.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 48th highest in Asia.

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Laos spends 3.3% of its total income on education.

Children usually start school at age 6 in Laos. Primary education is for five years until age 11 and that is the end of compulsory education. Secondary education can continue till 17. This may be followed by further education at a university or college.

Generally the school year consists of 2 terms and starts in September and finishes in June. There is usually a 2 week break in April.

72.8% of females and 82.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.

1.8% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 1.6% are unemployed while with males 1.9% can't find work.

The total number of people available for work in Laos is 3.58 million.

They work in the following sectors.

• Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
• Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
• Services is everything else

1.5% of the workforce are unemployed.

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There are 8 paved airports in Laos, which is the 40th highest number in Asia.


There are no railways in Laos.


There are 5,415 kilometres of roads in Laos, which means Laos is in 38th place for the most kilometres of roads in Asia.

There are 3 major national newspapers in Laos.

There are 3.96 million mobile phone users.

18% of the people have a fixed landline.



1.26 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).

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