Category: Laos

Laos is a country located in Southeast Asia and the country is bordered by Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Burma and Thailand. The capital of Laos is Vientiane and it is the largest city of the country. Laos’ history traces back to 14th century with the kingdom of Lan Xang. During late 19th century, Laos incorporated with French and the king ruled the country under French. Laos declared independence in the year 1945, but French re-asserted the control and in 1950, Laos was granted semi-autonomy within French Union. Laos got full independence only in 1954 as a constitutional monarchy.

Laos is a communist socialist republic with a single-party i.e. the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. President is the head of the state who is the General Secretary of the party. Prime Minister is the head of the government and important decisions are taken by the Council of Ministers. The economy of Laos is mainly depends on trade and investment with the neighboring countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam. About 80% of the employment is covered by the subsistence agriculture. Agriculture is dominated by the cultivation of rice and about 77% of the households in the country are independent in rice. Tourism sector is also growing gradually.

The population of Laos is 6.8 million and majority of the people are living in valleys of Mekong River and the tributaries of the river. About 69% of the population consists of ethnic Lao and Lao Loum is the lowland inhabitants of the country and Lao are the dominant group than others both culturally and politically. Lao Theung is the midland people and Lao Soung is the highland people of the country. The official language of the country is Lao and French is used in commerce and government. Among the population, 67% of the people are Thervada Buddhist and other religions are Christianity, Islam and other unspecified religions.

Luang Prabang is an ancient city recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO has several majestic buildings that survived the decades of revolution and war. Vieng Xai caves are the network of caves which served as the hidden city at the time of Vietnam War. Around 23,000 people were lived in the caves and the caves have the facilities such as military barracks, shops, bakeries, theater and hospital. Pak Ou Caves is a favorite tourist destination in which you can see several miniature sculptures of Buddha.

Another great attraction of the Laos is Wat Phu, a Khmer temple which is ruined and the structures of the temple are dated back to 11th -13th centuries. Pha That Luang is a famous stupa with several terraces in which different stages of Buddha’s enlightenment is depicted. Wat Xieng Thong is a temple that contains the statue