he 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.
Geography Laos
Location:
Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Geographic coordinates:
18 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
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
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season
(December to April)
Terrain:
mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
Natural resources:
timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use:
arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35%
other: 95.85% (2001)
Irrigated land:
1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation -
750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
floods, droughts
Environment - current issues:
unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the
population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly
forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western
boundary with Thailand
People Laos
Population:
6,068,117 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 19 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.44% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net
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