Outline of Laos

The Flag of Laos		The Coat of arms of Laos

The location of Laos

An enlargeable map of the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Main article: Index of Laos-related articles

The Lao People's Democratic Republic, commonly known as Laos, is a landlocked sovereign country located in Southeast Asia.^[1] Laos borders Burma (Myanmar) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. After a period as a French protectorate, it gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended officially when the communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975 but the protesting between factions continued for several years.

Private enterprise has increased since the late 1990s when economic reforms including rapid business licensing were introduced. Laos is still ranked among the lowest countries in terms of economic and political freedom.^[2] The economy of Laos grew at 7.2% in 2006, 35th fastest in the world. Eighty percent of the employed practice subsistence agriculture.^[1] The country's ethnic make-up is diverse, with around 70% belonging to the largest ethnic group, the Lao.^[1]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Laos:

General reference

An enlargeable relief map of Laos

• Pronunciation:
• Common English country name: Laos
• Official English country name: The Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Adjectives: Lao, Laotian
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology: Name of Laos
• International rankings of Laos
• ISO country codes: LA, LAO, 418
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:LA
• Internet country code top-level domain: .la

Geography of Laos

An enlargeable topographic map of Laos

Main article: Geography of Laos

• Laos is: a landlocked country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
  • Eurasia
    • Asia
      • South East Asia
        • Indochina
  • Time zone: UTC+07
  • Extreme points of Laos
    • High: Phou Bia 2,817 m (9,242 ft)
    • Low: Mekong 70 m (230 ft)
  • Land boundaries: 5,083 km

 Vietnam 2,130 km

 Thailand 1,754 km

 Cambodia 541 km

 China 423 km

 Myanmar 235 km

• Coastline: none

• Population of Laos: 5,859,000 - 106th most populous country
• Area of Laos: 236,800 km²
• Atlas of Laos

Environment of Laos

An enlargeable false color satellite image of Laos

Main article: Environment of Laos

• Climate of Laos
• Environmental issues in Laos
• Ecoregions in Laos
• Renewable energy in Laos
• Geology of Laos
• Protected areas of Laos
  • Biosphere reserves in Laos
  • National parks of Laos
• Wildlife of Laos
  • Flora of Laos
  • Fauna of Laos
    • Birds of Laos
    • Mammals of Laos

Natural geographic features of Laos

Main article: Landforms of Laos

• Glaciers of Laos
• Islands of Laos
• Lakes of Laos
• Mountains of Laos
  • Volcanoes in Laos
• Rivers of Laos
  • Waterfalls of Laos
• Valleys of Laos
• World Heritage Sites in Laos: None

Regions of Laos

Main article: Regions of Laos

Ecoregions of Laos

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Laos and Ecoregions in Laos

Administrative divisions of Laos

Main article: Administrative divisions of Laos

• Provinces of Laos
  • Districts of Laos

Provinces of Laos

Main article: Provinces of Laos

Districts of Laos

Main article: Districts of Laos

Municipalities of Laos

• Capital of Laos: Vientiane
• Cities of Laos

Demography of Laos

Main article: Demographics of Laos

Government and politics of Laos

Main article: Government of Laos and Politics of Laos

• Form of government:
• Capital of Laos: Vientiane

• Elections in Laos
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Laos
• Political scandals of Laos
• Taxation in Laos

Branches of the government of Laos

Main article: Government of Laos

Executive branch of the government of Laos

• Head of state: President of Laos,
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Laos,
• Cabinet of Laos

Legislative branch of the government of Laos

• Parliament of Laos (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Senate of Laos
  • Lower house: House of Commons of Laos

Judicial branch of the government of Laos

Main article: Court system of Laos

• Supreme Court of Laos

Foreign relations of Laos

Main article: Foreign relations of Laos

• Diplomatic missions in Laos
• Diplomatic missions of Laos
• Laos-Vietnam relations

International organization membership

The Lao People's Democratic Republic is a member of:^[1]

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) Colombo Plan (CP) East Asia Summit (EAS) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of 77 (G77) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (subscriber) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM)

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Nonaligned Movement (NAM) Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Trade Organization (WTO) (observer)

Law and order in Laos

Main article: Law of Laos

• Capital punishment in Laos
• Constitution of Laos
• Crime in Laos
• Human rights in Laos
  • LGBT rights in Laos
  • Freedom of religion in Laos
• Law enforcement in Laos

Military of Laos

Main article: Military of Laos

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief:
    • Ministry of Defence of Laos
• Forces
  • Army of Laos
  • Navy of Laos: None
  • Air Force of Laos
  • Special forces of Laos
• Military history of Laos
• Military ranks of Laos

Local government in Laos

Main article: Local government in Laos

History of Laos

Main article: History of Laos, Timeline of the history of Laos, and Current events of Laos

• Economic history of Laos
• Military history of Laos

Culture of Laos

Main article: Culture of Laos

• Architecture of Laos
• Cuisine of Laos
• Ethnic minorities in Laos
• Festivals in Laos
• Humor in Laos
• Languages of Laos
• Media in Laos
• National symbols of Laos
  • Coat of arms of Laos
  • Flag of Laos
  • National anthem of Laos
• Lao people
• Prostitution in Laos
• Public holidays in Laos
• Records of Laos
• Religion in Laos
  • Buddhism in Laos
  • Christianity in Laos
  • Hinduism in Laos
  • Islam in Laos
  • Judaism in Laos
  • Sikhism in Laos
• World Heritage Sites in Laos: None

Art in Laos

• Art in Laos
• Cinema of Laos
• Literature of Laos
• Music of Laos
• Television in Laos
• Theatre in Laos

Sports in Laos

Main article: Sports in Laos

• Football in Laos
• Laos at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Laos

Main article: Economy of Laos

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 141st (one hundred and forty first)

• Agriculture in Laos
• Banking in Laos
  • National Bank of Laos
• Communications in Laos
  • Internet in Laos
• Companies of Laos

• Currency of Laos: Kip
  • ISO 4217: LAK

• Economic history of Laos
• Energy in Laos
  • Energy policy of Laos
  • Oil industry in Laos
• Mining in Laos
• Laos Stock Exchange
• Tourism in Laos
• Transport in Laos
  • Airports in Laos
  • Rail transport in Laos
  • Roads in Laos
• Water supply and sanitation in Laos

Education in Laos

Main article: Education in Laos

Health in Laos

Main article: Health in Laos

See also

Asia portal

Main article: Laos

• Index of Laos-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Laos-related topics
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Asia
• Outline of geography

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Laos". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/la.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
2. ^ Heritage Foundation

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Laos

• The National Portal of Laos
• Lao National Tourism Administration
• Lao Voices
• Lao Media
• Laos at the Open Directory Project
• Laos travel guide from Wikitravel
• Wikimedia Atlas of Laos
• Collaborative Collection of Creative Commons licensed images of Laos