Laos
Context of Laos
Laos ( (listen)), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Because of its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms: Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came...Read more
Laos ( (listen)), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Because of its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms: Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A post-independence civil war began, which saw the communist resistance, supported by the Soviet Union, fight against the monarchy that later came under influence of military regimes supported by the United States. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war. Laos was then dependent on military and economic aid from the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.
Laos is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, the ASEAN, East Asia Summit, and La Francophonie. Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997; on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership. It is a one-party socialist republic, espousing Marxism–Leninism and governed by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, under which non-governmental organisations have routinely characterised the country's human rights record as poor, citing repeated abuses such as torture, restrictions on civil liberties and persecution of minorities.
The politically and culturally dominant Lao people make up 53.2% of the population, mostly in the lowlands. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other indigenous hill tribes live in the foothills and mountains. Laos's strategies for development are based on generating electricity from rivers and selling the power to its neighbours, namely Thailand, China and Vietnam, as well as its initiative to become a "land-linked" nation, as evidenced by the construction of four new railways connecting Laos and neighbours. Laos has been referred to as one of Southeast Asia and Pacific's fastest growing economies by the World Bank with annual GDP growth averaging 7.4% since 2009.
More about Laos
- Currency Lao kip
- Calling code +856
- Internet domain .la
- Mains voltage 230V/50Hz
- Democracy index 1.77
- Population 6858160
- Area 236800
- Driving side right
- Prehistory and early history
An ancient human skull was recovered in 2009 from the Tam Pa Ling Cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos; the skull is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast Asia.[1] Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos.[2] Archaeological evidence suggests an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC.[3] Burial jars and other kinds of sepulchers suggest a complex society in which bronze objects appeared around 1500 BC, and iron tools were known from 700 BC....Read more
Prehistory and early historyRead lessAn ancient human skull was recovered in 2009 from the Tam Pa Ling Cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos; the skull is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast Asia.[1] Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos.[2] Archaeological evidence suggests an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC.[3] Burial jars and other kinds of sepulchers suggest a complex society in which bronze objects appeared around 1500 BC, and iron tools were known from 700 BC. The proto-historic period is characterised by contact with Chinese and Indian civilisations. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward to the modern territories of Laos and Thailand from Guangxi sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.[4]
Lan XangLaos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang ('million elephants'), which was founded in the 13th century by a Lao prince, Fa Ngum,[5]: 223 whose father had his family exiled from the Khmer Empire. Fa Ngum, with 10,000 Khmer troops, conquered many Lao principalities in the Mekong river basin, culminating in the capture of Vientiane. Ngum was descended from a long line of Lao kings that traced back to Khoun Boulom.[6] He made Theravada Buddhism the state religion, and Lan Xang prospered. His ministers, unable to tolerate his ruthlessness, forced him into exile to the present-day Thai province of Nan in 1373,[7] where he died. Fa Ngum's eldest son, Oun Heuan, ascended to the throne under the name Samsenethai and reigned for 43 years. Lan Xang became an important trade centre during Samsenthai's reign, but after his death in 1421 it collapsed into warring factions for nearly a century.[8]
In 1520, Photisarath came to the throne and moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane to avoid a Burmese invasion. Setthathirath became king in 1548, after his father was killed, and ordered the construction of what became the symbol of Laos, That Luang. Settathirath disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into Cambodia, and Lan Xang fell into more than seventy years of instability, involving both Burmese invasion and civil war.[9]
In 1637, when Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne, Lan Xang further expanded its frontiers. His reign is often regarded as Laos's golden age. When he died without an heir, the kingdom split into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Prabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty.[10]
Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature and improved relations with Luang Phrabang. Under Vietnamese pressure, he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826. The rebellion failed, and Vientiane was ransacked.[11] Anouvong was taken to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he died.[12]
In a time period where the acquisition of humans was a priority over the ownership of land, the warfare of pre-modern Southeast Asia revolved around the seizing of people and resources from its enemies. A Siamese military campaign in Laos in 1876 was described by a British observer as having been "transformed into slave-hunting raids on a large scale".[13]
French Laos (1893–1953)In the late 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese Black Flag Army.[14] France rescued King Oun Kham and added Luang Phrabang to the protectorate of French Indochina. Shortly after, the Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were added to the protectorate. King Sisavang Vong of Luang Phrabang became ruler of a unified Laos, and Vientiane once again became the capital.[15] Laos never held any importance for France[16] other than as a buffer state between Thailand and the more economically important Annam and Tonkin.
Laos produced tin, rubber, and coffee, but never accounted for more than one percent of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos.[17] Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a labour shortage within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space.[18] By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in the largest cities of Laos and enjoying the right to elect its own leaders.[19] As a result, 53% of the population of Vientiane, 85% of Thakhek, and 62% of Pakse were Vietnamese, with only the exception of Luang Prabang where the population was predominantly Lao.[19] As late as 1945, the French drew up an ambitious plan to move massive Vietnamese population to three key areas, i.e., the Vientiane Plain, Savannakhet region, and the Bolaven Plateau, which was only derailed by the Japanese invasion of Indochina.[19] Otherwise, according to Martin Stuart-Fox, the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.[19]
During World War II in Laos, Vichy France, Thailand, Imperial Japan and Free France occupied Laos.[20] On 9 March 1945, a nationalist group declared Laos once more independent, with Luang Prabang as its capital, but on 7 April 1945 two battalions of Japanese troops occupied the city.[21] The Japanese attempted to force Sisavang Vong (the King of Luang Phrabang) to declare Laotian independence, but on 8 April he instead simply declared an end to Laos's status as a French protectorate. The king then secretly sent Prince Kindavong to represent Laos to the Allied forces and Prince Sisavang as representative to the Japanese.[21] When Japan surrendered, some Lao nationalists (including Prince Phetsarath) declared Laotian independence, but by early-1946, French troops had reoccupied the country and conferred limited autonomy on Laos.[22]
During the First Indochina War, the Indochinese Communist Party formed the Pathet Lao independence organisation. The Pathet Lao began a war against the French colonial forces with the aid of the Vietnamese independence organisation, the Viet Minh. In 1950, the French were forced to give Laos semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the French Union. France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy.[23][22]
Independence and Communist rule (1953–present)The First Indochina War took place across French Indochina and eventually led to French defeat and the signing of a peace accord for Laos at the Geneva Conference of 1954. In 1960, amidst a series of rebellions in the Kingdom of Laos, fighting broke out between the Royal Lao Army (RLA) and the communist North Vietnamese and Soviet Union-backed Pathet Lao guerillas. A second Provisional Government of National Unity formed by Prince Souvanna Phouma in 1962 was unsuccessful, and the situation steadily deteriorated into large scale civil war between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong.[23][22]
Laos was a key part of the Vietnam War since parts of Laos were invaded and occupied by North Vietnam since 1958 for use as a supply route for its war against South Vietnam. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the PAVN positions, supported regular and irregular anti-communist forces in Laos, and supported Army of the Republic of Vietnam incursions into Laos.[23][22]
In 1968, the PAVN launched a multi-division attack to help the Pathet Lao fight the RLA. The attack resulted in the RLA largely demobilising, leaving the conflict to irregular ethnic Hmong forces of the "Secret Army" backed by the United States and Thailand, and led by General Vang Pao.[citation needed]
Massive aerial bombardments against the PAVN/Pathet Lao forces were carried out by the United States to prevent the collapse of the Kingdom of Laos central government, and to deny the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to attack US forces in South Vietnam.[23] Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1 million tons of bombs the US dropped on Europe and Asia during all of World War II, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history relative to the size of its population; The New York Times notes this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos".[24]
Some 80 million bombs failed to explode and remain scattered throughout the country, rendering vast swaths of land impossible to cultivate. Currently unexploded ordnance (UXO), including cluster munitions and mines, kill or maim approximately 50 Laotians every year.[25] Due to the particularly heavy impact of cluster bombs during this war, Laos was a strong advocate of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the weapons and was host to the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.[26]
In 1975 the Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died under suspicious circumstances in a re-education camp. Between 20,000 and 62,000 Laotians died during the civil war.[23][27] The royalists set up a government in exile in the United States.[citation needed]
On 2 December 1975, after taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government under Kaysone Phomvihane renamed the country as the Lao People's Democratic Republic and signed agreements giving Vietnam the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. The close ties between Laos and Vietnam were formalised via a treaty signed in 1977, which has since provided direction for Lao foreign policy, and provides the basis for Vietnamese involvement at all levels of Lao political and economic life.[23][28] Laos was requested in 1979 by Vietnam to end relations with the People's Republic of China, leading to isolation in trade by China, the United States, and other countries.[29] In 1979, there were 50,000 PAVN troops stationed in Laos and as many as 6,000 civilian Vietnamese officials including 1,000 directly attached to the ministries in Vientiane.[30][31]
The conflict between Hmong rebels and Laos continued in key areas of Laos, including in Saysaboune Closed Military Zone, Xaisamboune Closed Military Zone near Vientiane Province and Xiangkhouang Province. From 1975 to 1996, the United States resettled some 250,000 Lao refugees from Thailand, including 130,000 Hmong.[32]
On 3 December 2021, the 422-kilometre Boten-Vientiane railway, a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was opened.[33]
^ Demeter, F; et al. (2012). "Anatomically modern human in Southeast Asia (Laos) by 46 ka". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (36): 14375–14380. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10914375D. doi:10.1073/pnas.1208104109. PMC 3437904. PMID 22908291. ^ White, J.C.; Lewis, H.; Bouasisengpaseuth, B.; Marwick, B.; Arrell, K (2009). "Archaeological Investigations in northern Laos: New contributions to Southeast Asian prehistory". Antiquity. 83 (319). Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016. ^ Marwick, Ben; Bouasisengpaseuth, Bounheung (2017). "History and Practice of Archaeology in Laos". In Habu, Junko; Lape, Peter; Olsen, John (eds.). Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology. Springer. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2018. ^ Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No 20: 47–64. ^ Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans. Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1. ^ "Fa Ngum". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2019. ^ "Fa Ngum". History.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011. ^ Sanda Simms, ch. 3, "Through Chaos to a New Order", in The Kingdoms of Laos (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). ISBN 9781136863370 ^ Sanda Simms, ch. 6, "Seventy Years of Anarchy", in The Kingdoms of Laos (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). ISBN 9781136863370; see also P.C. Sinha, ed., Encyclopaedia of South East and Far East Asia, vol. 3 (Anmol, 2006). ^ Askew, Marc. (2010) [2007]. Vientiane : transformations of a Lao landscape. Logan, William Stewart, 1942–, Long, Colin, 1966–. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-59662-6. OCLC 68416667. ^ "Let's hope Laos hangs on to its identity". Asianewsnet.net. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) ^ Imperial Wars 1815–1914. Showalter, Dennis. London. 17 September 2013. ISBN 978-1-78274-125-1. OCLC 1152285624.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) ^ "Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Northern Thailand: Archival Anecdotes and Village Voices". The Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia ^ Librios Semantic Environment (11 August 2006). "Laos: Laos under the French". Culturalprofiles.net. Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2011. ^ Carine Hahn, Le Laos, Karthala, 1999, pp. 69–72 ^ Cummings, Joe and Burke (2005). Laos. Lonely Planet. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-1-74104-086-9. ^ "History of Laos". Lonely Planet. 9 August 1960. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2011. ^ Ivarsson, Søren (2008). Creating Laos: The Making of a Lao Space Between Indochina and Siam, 1860–1945 Archived 10 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. NIAS Press, p. 102. ISBN 978-8-776-94023-2. ^ a b c d Stuart-Fox, Martin (1997). A History of Laos Archived 5 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Cambridge University Press, p. 51. ISBN 978-0-521-59746-3. ^ Paul Lévy, ''Histoire du Laos'', PUF, 1974. ^ a b Savada, Andrea Matles (editor) (1994) "Events in 1945" A Country Study: Laos Archived 21 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine Federal Research Division, Library of Congress ^ a b c d "Laos – Encyclopædia Britannica Overview". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Kiernan, Ben; Owen, Taylor (26 April 2015). "Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications". The Asia-Pacific Journal. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016. ^ Wright, Rebecca (6 September 2016). "'My friends were afraid of me': What 80 million unexploded US bombs did to Laos". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2016. ^ "Disarmament". The United Nations Office at Geneva. United Nations. November 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013. ^ Obermeyer, Ziad; Murray, Christopher J. L.; Gakidou, Emmanuela (2008). "Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme". BMJ. 336 (7659): 1482–1486. doi:10.1136/bmj.a137. PMC 2440905. PMID 18566045. See Table 3. ^ Stuart-Fox, Martin (1980). LAOS: The Vietnamese Connection Archived 13 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. In Suryadinata, L (Ed.), Southeast Asian Affairs (1980). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Stuides, pg. 191. ^ Kingsbury, Damien (2016). Politics in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Authority, Democracy and Political Change Archived 10 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Taylor & Francis;ISBN 978-1-317-49628-1, pg. 50. ^ Savada, Andrea M. (1995). Laos: a country study Archived 19 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, p. 271. ISBN 0-8444-0832-8 ^ Prayaga, M. (2005). Renovation in Vietnam since 1988 a study in political, economic and social change Archived 19 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine (PhD thesis). Sri Venkateswara University. Chapter IV: The Metamorphosed Foreign Relations, pg. 154. ^ Laos (04/09) Archived 24 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Department of State.[failed verification] ^ "The Completed China-Laos Railway". ASEAN Business News. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- Stay safeWARNING: There are 78 million unexploded bombs and grenades in Laos as a result of bombing by the USA during the Laotian Civil War and Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s. Do not touch any loose metal items and be particularly careful in areas that were controlled by North Vietnam during the war.
Laos in general is a safe country, in part because crime is punished to a significant extent by the government. This said, petty crime remains a concern.
Corruption See also: Corruption and briberyCorruption is a huge problem in Laos. According to Transparency International, Laos is the second most corrupt country in South East Asia.
...Read moreStay safeRead lessWARNING: There are 78 million unexploded bombs and grenades in Laos as a result of bombing by the USA during the Laotian Civil War and Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s. Do not touch any loose metal items and be particularly careful in areas that were controlled by North Vietnam during the war.Laos in general is a safe country, in part because crime is punished to a significant extent by the government. This said, petty crime remains a concern.
Corruption See also: Corruption and briberyCorruption is a huge problem in Laos. According to Transparency International, Laos is the second most corrupt country in South East Asia.
Given how the police earn very low salaries, it's not uncommon for them to routinely target, harass, or intimidate people for bribes. As a foreigner, you may be seen as a "walking wallet" to them. Should you be stopped for any reason, do not argue or fight back, even if you've not done anything wrong; simply pay the bribe and be on your way.
AuthoritiesThe police are woefully ineffective. Their response to crimes is severely limited by bureaucracy, inadequate training, corruption, and a lackluster justice system. If you're the victim of a crime, it's not unheard of to not be taken seriously by the authorities. In addition, expect little to no help if you're not fluent in Lao.
In accordance with the law, you are required to have an identification document on you at all times, and the police have the legal right to ask you for it. If they ask you for it, just give it to them. Failing to produce an identity document on request will result in a heavy fine.
As obvious as it may sound, always behave respectfully to law enforcement authorities, even if they happen to be highly corrupt.
Relationships with Laotian nationalsTrue to its nature as a communist country, the Laotian government dictates how foreigners should interact with the locals.
Foreigners are not allowed to stay in the homes of Laotian nationals without permission from the government. Foreigners are not allowed to stay in the homes of their family members without permission from the government. Sexual contact and cohabitation between a Lao national and a foreigner is illegal unless they are married. Foreigners are not allowed to invite someone of the opposite sex to their hotel room. Adultery is illegal in Laos. It is punishable by up to a year of imprisonment and a fine. If you've been accused of adultery, know that you and your partner will be prosecuted. If you are thinking about getting serious (i.e. marriage or engagement) with a Laotian citizen, you are required to submit a formal application to the authorities. Not doing so can result in heavy penalties. If you have married a Laotian national outside of Laos, you must have your marriage certificate authenticated at a Laotian embassy before travelling to Laos.LGBT travellersHomosexuality is legal in Laos. Public displays of affection between same-sex couples may be tolerated in large cities like Vientiane, but in smaller towns, homosexuality remains taboo, especially among the Hmong people.
Illegal substancesWARNING: The Lao PDR penal code penalises illegal substances severely. Depending on the circumstances, you can expect to face lengthy prison sentences, hefty fines, or at worst, execution.Government travel advisories(Information last updated 16 Feb 2022)United Kingdom United StatesLaos is at the center of the illegal drug trade; therefore, the country has a huge problem with illegal substances. At some point during the 1990s, it was believed the country was the largest opium producer in the world. Although the government has done a lot to stamp out the illegal drug trade, the country's remote geography and high level of corruption mean that the issue is difficult to fully and adequately control.
Expected to be treated with no leniency if you have been accused of being involved in illegal substances.
The following tips will come in handy:
Never leave your food or drinks unattended, and always be careful when someone gives you food or a drink. Be wary of "special" or "happy items" in restaurants; such dishes may contain opiates.Traffic conditionsAlthough Laotian traffic laws are strict (at least on paper), driving by the majority of Laotians is wild and reckless. Speeding, reckless passing, and failure to obey traffic laws are common, as is driving under the influence.
In the event you end up in a car accident, do not flee the scene. It is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine up to 10,000,000 Kip. Attempting to flee the scene is also unwise.
PoliticsAccording the Laotian Penal Code, it is illegal to "conduct propaganda" against the government and the country, i.e. saying negative things about the country and/or the Laotian government.
Doing so is punishable by up to five years in prison and a very hefty fine. Also, you should know that if the authorities feel you have "disgraced" the country, you will not be allowed to leave.
Foreigners are not exempted from this law; in 2012, a Swiss NGO director was deported and banished from the country after she published a letter openly criticising the government.
Miscellaneous Landmines or unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War maim or kills hundreds of people every year as Laos is the most bombed country in history. Almost all of these occur in the eastern and northern parts of the country, especially near the border with Vietnam. Never enter areas marked as minefields and travel only on paved roads and well-worn paths. If you are unsure of which areas are safe, ask the locals. Fake products are very common. Laos is one place where Chinese or Thai companies dump sub-standard products. Similar to Myanmar, there are few if any laws preventing such trade.