Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is a Southeast Asian nation located south of China and on the eastern side of the Indochinese Peninsula. It has an area of 91,429 square miles (236,800 square kilometers) and a population of approximately 7,557,000 as of 2023 estimates. The capital of Laos is Vientiane, and the major ethnic groups that make up the country include the Lao-Lum (valley Lao), the Lao-Tai, the Lao-Theung (Mon-Khmer) and the Lao-Soung group.
Languages spoken in Laos include Lao (the official language) as well as English, Vietnamese, and French. Buddhism and traditional beliefs are the predominant religions. The currency used in the country is the kip.
Laos is largely mountainous, especially in the north, with its highest point being Mount Bia at 9,245 feet (2,818 meters). The majority of the country is covered by tropical forests, while only a small portion is suitable for agriculture. The Mekong River provides the only lowlands and its major wet-rice fields.
The economy of Laos is based primarily on agriculture such as rice, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, cassava and opium poppies. International aid also contributes to the country’s economy. Laos is a unitary single-party people’s republic with one legislative house, and its head of state is the president and its head of government is the prime minister.