Overview
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is a country in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country has a population of more than 7.5 million, with Vientiane serving as its capital and most populous city.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Laos is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites that attract visitors from around the world:
- The town of Luang Prabang
- The temple complex of Vat Phou
- The Plain of Jars
Modern Infrastructure and International Relations
The 2021 completion of the Boten–Vientiane railway, the Laotian section of the Laos–China Railway, connects Vientiane to Kunming. Laos is an active participant in regional and international organizations, including the Greater Mekong Subregion economic cooperation programme, ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, the East Asia Summit, La Francophonie, and the World Trade Organization.
Geography and Climate
Laos lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°N, and longitudes 100° and 108°E. The landscape is predominantly forested and mountainous, with the highest peak being Phou Bia at 2,818 metres (9,245 ft). The Mekong River forms part of the western boundary with Thailand, while the Annamite Range creates most of the eastern border with Vietnam. The country contains two major plateaus: the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau in the south.
The climate is mostly tropical savanna, influenced by monsoon patterns. A rainy season extends from May to October, followed by a dry season from November to April, with the final two months being notably hotter than the earlier ones.
Wildlife and Conservation
Laos's forests and river systems support diverse wildlife. National parks including Nam Et-Phou Louey and Nakai-Nam Theun serve as refuges for endangered species such as the northern white-cheeked gibbon and the saola. The country's forests shelter more than 50 mammal species and nearly 300 bird species, along with various reptiles and amphibians. Native species including Asian elephants, gibbons, and tigers are listed as endangered, with conservation efforts in place to protect them. In 1993, the government set aside 21% of the land area for habitat conservation preservation.
Administrative Divisions
Laos is divided into 17 provinces and one prefecture, which includes the capital city Vientiane.
History
Early Human Settlement and Prehistory
An anatomically modern human skull recovered from the Tam Pa Ling Cave in the Annamite Mountains in 2009 is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found in Southeast Asia as of that date. Stone artifacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites in northern Laos dating to the Pleistocene.
Archaeological evidence indicates that an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BCE, with bronze objects appearing around 1500 BCE and iron tools known from 700 BCE. Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward from Guangxi to the territories of Laos and Thailand sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries, according to linguistic and historical evidence.
The Kingdom of Lan Xang
The kingdom of Lan Xang ("a million elephants") was founded in the 13th century by Fa Ngum, a prince whose family had been exiled from the Khmer Empire. With 10,000 Khmer troops, Ngum conquered principalities in the Mekong River basin and captured Vientiane. He established Theravada Buddhism as the state religion. After his forced exile in 1373, his eldest son Samsenethai ascended to the throne and reigned for 43 years, during which Lan Xang became a major trade center. The kingdom subsequently collapsed into warring factions for nearly a century following Samsenethai's death in 1421.
In 1520, Photisarath moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane to avoid a Burmese invasion. His successor, Setthathirath, ascended the throne in 1548 and ordered the construction of That Luang. After Setthathirath disappeared in the mountains during a military expedition to Cambodia, Lan Xang entered more than 70 years of instability marked by Burmese invasions and civil war.
When Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne in 1637, Lan Xang expanded further. Upon his death without an heir, the kingdom split into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Prabang, while Champasak came under Siamese suzerainty. Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese and encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature. His 1826 rebellion against Siamese rule failed, resulting in Vientiane being ransacked and Anouvong being taken to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he died.
French Colonial Period
In the 19th century, France rescued King Oun Kham of Luang Prabang from Chinese Black Flag Army raids and incorporated the kingdom into the protectorate of French Indochina. The Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were subsequently added to the protectorate. King Sisavang Vong of Luang Prabang became ruler of a unified Laos under French control, with Vientiane restored as the capital.
Under French rule, Laos produced tin, rubber, and coffee, though the country never accounted for more than 1% of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, approximately 600 French citizens lived in Laos. To address labor shortages, the French encouraged Vietnamese migration to Laos. By 1943, the Vietnamese population had grown to nearly 40,000, forming majorities in some cities; Vietnamese comprised 53% of Vientiane's population, 85% of Thakhek's, and 62% of Pakse's, though Luang Prabang remained predominantly Lao.
World War II and Independence
During World War II, Vichy France, Thailand, Imperial Japan, and Free France occupied Laos. On 9 March 1945, a nationalist group declared Laos independent with Luang Prabang as capital. On 7 April, two battalions of Japanese troops occupied the city. The Japanese pressured Sisavang Vong to declare independence, and on 8 April, he declared an end to Laos's status as a French protectorate.
Civil War and Modern Republic
Following the end of French administration, a civil war lasting from 1959 to 1975 erupted between the communist Pathet Lao, supported by China, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, and the Royal Lao Armed Forces, backed by the United States. The conflict ended with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party establishing the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975. Laos initially achieved autonomy in 1949 and regained full independence in 1953 as the Kingdom of Laos under a constitutional monarchy.