Laos is a country located in Asia. According to AbbreviationFinder, LA is the two-letter ISO code of Laos, and LAO is the three-letter country abbreviation for Laos.

Yearbook 1997

Laos. According to Countryaah, the national day of Laos is May 11. Laos, which is isolated and financially disadvantaged but politically stable, took a major step towards regional integration in July when the country joined ASEAN, the Southeast Asian Allies. Since Laos began to open up to the outside world in the 1980s, foreign investment has increased steadily, mainly in the hydropower sector.

In March/April, Laos’s parliament, nationally, adopted new laws that strengthened private ownership, a prerequisite for attracting more foreign investors to the country. In August, Laos as the first country in Southeast Asia signed an agreement with the United States on investment protection and the free transfer of capital and profits.

A schism with the EU was resolved in October when the EU again granted duty-free clearance for some Laotian textiles, the country’s largest export product. Customs duty was withdrawn in 1995 since the textile industry used import goods in violation of EU rules on the origin of goods.

In October, Philippine President Fidel Ramos came to the capital Vientiane on Laos’s first state visit from an ASEAN country.

A new National Assembly, extended from 85 to 99 members, was elected December 21. Almost all elected members were members of the ruling Communist Laotian Revolutionary People’s Party, so no major political changes were expected after the election.

• Shopareview: Offers climate information of Laos in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, covering maximum and minimum temperature for each of 12 months. Also includes when is best time to visit this country.

Country data

Area: 236,800 km² (world rank: 82)

Residents: 6,858,000

Population density: 29 per km² (as of 2017, world rank: 105)

Capital: Viangchan (Vientiane)

Official languages: Lao

Gross domestic product: 16.9 billion US $; Real growth: 6.9%

Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 2270 US$

Currency: Kip

Embassy

Bismarckallee 2a, 14193 Berlin
Telephone 030 89060647,
Fax 030 89060648
E-Mail: [email protected]

Government
Head of State: Bounnhang VorachithPhankham Viphavanh, Head of Government: Thongloun Sisoulith, Exterior: Saleumxay Commasith

National holiday: 2.12. (Proclamation of the People’s Republic 1975)

Administrative structure
16 provinces and capital city

prefecture State and form of government
Constitution of 1991
People’s Republic
Parliament: National Assembly (Sapha Heng Xat) with 149 members, election every 5 years; only one party (LRVP) allowed.
Election of the head of state by parliament every 5 years.
Suffrage from 18 years.

Population: Laotians, last census 2015: 6,492,228 residents,
49 ethnic groups: 53% Lao, 11% Khmou, 9% Hmong; Minorities of Chinese and Thai

Cities (with population): (As of 2015) Viangchan (Vientiane) 620,157 inh., Savannakhét 91,684, Pakxé 68,093, Louangphrabang 66,781, Phonsavan 48,643, Thahèk 38,388

Religions: 65% Buddhists, 2% Christians; approx. 30% followers of indigenous religions; Minorities of Muslims and Baha’i; Confucianism and Daoism widespread (as of 2006)

Languages: 65% Lao; Languages ​​of the minorities, French, Chinese, Vietnamese

Employed by economic sector: No information

Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
No information

Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 0.8%

Foreign trade: Import: 5.1 billion US $ (2017); Export: 4.0 billion US $ (2017)

History. – After the withdrawal of the troops of the Vietminh, which entered northern Laos in 1951, and of those of the French Union (19 November 1954), the Laos became an independent and sovereign state governed by a representative monarchy. In the same autumn of 1954 the royal government entered into negotiations with the Pathet Lao (Libero Laos) regime, which during the war against the Vietminh had taken control of the provinces of Phongsaly and Sam Neua. An agreement was reached in August 1956, under which the Pathet Lao was given the freedom to organize and act as a political party, while its armed forces were incorporated into the regular army and the two aforementioned provinces returned to government control. central: the The agreement also provided for the formation of a national government with the participation of the Pathet Lao in favor of a policy of friendship with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the People’s Republic of China. Already at the conference of Afro-Asian countries held in Bandung (Indonesia) in April 1955, Laos had already lined up, together with India, among the countries in favor of a policy of neutrality or open alliance with the communist countries, adopting the five principles of peaceful coexistence (pañcaśīla). In the same 1955, Prime Minister Prince Souvanna Phouma made an official visit first to Beijing and then to Hanoi. In January 1956, Laos joined the UN organization; in July 1958 the International Control Commission established by the Geneva Agreement (July 21, 1954) was withdrawn. The resignation of Souvanna Phouma (August 1958), after he had unsuccessfully sought US support for his policy, brought Phui Sananikone, the expression of an anti-Communist “Committee for the Defense of National Interests”, to power. Two years later, after a confused situation and fraught with government crisis, in August 1960 Souvanna Phouma took over again and returned to government (August 16). The efforts of this, aimed at keeping the Laos on neutralist positions in foreign policy, with the reintegration of the Pathet Lao in political life (after this current for over a year had already transcended towards the partisan struggle in the countryside), were unsuccessful and civil war soon arose between the right-wing forces, led by Phoumi Mosavan, and the neutralist governmentalists and the left, supported by the Pathet Lao. Towards the middle of December 1960, a right-wing government, headed by Phoumi Mosavan, was opposed to the Souvanna Phouma government, thanks to the royal sanction and the support of part of the assembly. The policy of the Western powers moves between the two governments, with uncertainty and perplexity, and at the meeting of the SEATO (13 December 1960) they examined the situation in Laos.

From an economic point of view, the most important events of the last decade are Laos’s participation in the Colombo plan for the economic development of South and Southeast Asia and in the grandiose twenty-year project for the development of the Mekong basin to be implemented in collaboration with Thailand, Cambodia and the state of Vietnam, with the assistance of the UN.