Laos 
Facts
Population: 6,521,998 (July 2007 est.).
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.).
Population growth rate: 2.37% (2007 est.).
Birth rate: 34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Death rate: 11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female
total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.).
Infant mortality rate: total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.89 years
male: 53.82 years
female: 58.04 years (2007 est.).
Total fertility rate: 4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.).
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.).
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1,700 (2003 est.).
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.).
Nationality: noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian.
Ethnic groups: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%.
Religions: Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census).
Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.7%
male: 77%
female: 60.9% (2001 est.).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $13.63 billion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 7.4% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,100 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 43.4%
industry: 30.6%
services: 26% (2006 est.).
Labor force: 2.1 million (2006 est.).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.).
Population below poverty line: 30.7% (2005 est.).
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997).
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.8% (2006 est.).
Unemployment rate: 2.4% (2005 est.).
Budget: revenues: $400 million
expenditures: $537.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.).
Agriculture - products: sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry.
Industries: copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement.
Industrial production growth rate: 15.7% (2006 est.).
Electricity - production: 3.936 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 3.26 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 600 million kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 200 million kWh (2004).
Exports: $982.2 million (2006 est.).
Exports - commodities: garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin.
Exports - partners: Thailand 29.4%, Vietnam 12.5%, France 6%, Germany 4.5% (2005).
Imports: $1.376 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods.
Imports - partners: Thailand 66.8%, China 9.1%, Vietnam 5.8% (2005).
Debt - external: $3.179 billion (2006).
Economic aid - recipient: $379 million (2006 est.).
Currency (code): kip (LAK).
Exchange rates: kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002).
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
Press
Xat Lao
(Pro-government), Vientiane
Laos in the News
1
2
Displaying 1 to 4 of 6 items.
Bounsang Khamkeo survived seven years in the secret jungle prisons of the Communist Pathet Lao. His memoir,
The ragtag Hmong guerrillas are one of many small groups estimated to number between 2,000 and 12,000 still hiding in the mountains of Laos.
The poor Southeast Asian nation of Laos still bears the scars from the most extensive U.S.-led aerial bombing campaign since World War II.
The situation in Laos today - gross corruption, unpaid deserting soldiers, and an economy dependent on foreign aid closely resembles the scene in the late 1950's. All that's missing is a war in Vietnam.
Americas 
