Laos

Background: In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997.
Location: Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam. Area: total: 236,800 sq km, water: 6,000 sq km, land: 230,800 sq km. Area - comparative: Slightly larger than Utah. Land boundaries: Total: 5,083 km, border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km.
Climate and Terrain: Climate: Tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April). Terrain: Mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus. Natural resources: Timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones.
People: Population: 5,921,545. Ethnic groups: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%. Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%). Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages.
Government: Government type: Communist state. Capital: Vientiane. Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France).
Economy overview: The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 25,000. Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,915. Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4. Radios: 730,000. Television broadcast stations: 4. Televisions: 52,000. Internet users: 10,000. Railways: 0 km. Highways: Total: 21,716 km, paved: 9,664 km, unpaved: 12,052 km. Airports - with paved runways: 9, with unpaved runways: 42.