trol population migration,
illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia
delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from
any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes
- Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally
agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with
Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border
villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited
water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by
the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing
water and hydropower to Kazakhstan

Illicit drugs: significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited
cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited
government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used
as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and
Western Europe from Southwest Asia; developing heroin addiction problem

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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Laos

Introduction

Laos

Background: In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the
government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to
Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private
enterprise, an easing 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