ng, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three
hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia
and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of
gradual decline, Laos came under the control of Siam (Thailand) from
the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became
part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined
the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet
Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy
and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to
Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the
liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became
a member of 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
land: 230,800 sq km
water: 6,000 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: 4.01%
permanent crops: 0.34%
other: 95.65% (2005)

Irrigated land:
1,750 sq km (2003)

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:
6,368,481 (July 2006 est.)

Age struct