Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Prabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty. Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese.
Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Prabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty. Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese.
Under Vietnamese pressure, he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826.
Anouvong was taken to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he died. 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". === French Laos (1893–1953) === In the late 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese Black Flag Army.
In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos.
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. ==Etymology== The English word Laos was coined by the French, who united the three Lao kingdoms in French Indochina in 1893 and named the country as the plural of the dominant and most common ethnic group, the Lao people.
In the late 1920s, work began on the Thakhek–Tan Ap railway that would have run between Thakhek, Khammouane Province and Tân Ấp station in Vietnam through the Mụ Giạ Pass.
The scheme was aborted in the 1930s.
By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos.
It has been closed since the 1940s.
Some Vietnamese, Laotian Chinese and Thai minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many left after independence in the late 1940s, many of whom relocated either to Vietnam, Hong Kong, or to France.
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.
It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949.
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.
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.
Government policies are determined by the party through the all-powerful eleven-member Politburo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the 61-member Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Laos's first French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on 11 May 1947, and declared Laos an independent state within the French Union.
It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949.
In 1950, the French were forced to give Laos semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the French Union.
Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong.
France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy. === 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.
France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy. === 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.
The revised constitution of 11 May 1957 omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted.
The 1957 document was abrogated in December 1975, when a communist people's republic was proclaimed.
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.
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".
In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the PAVN positions, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos, and supported Army of the Republic of Vietnam incursions into Laos. In 1968, the PAVN launched a multi-division attack to help the Pathet Lao fight the RLA.
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".
After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Dowopabunya communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war.
Because of 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. In 1975 the Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975.
The royalists set up a government in exile in the United States. 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.
From 1975 to 1996, the United States resettled some 250,000 Lao refugees from Thailand, including 130,000 Hmong. == Geography == Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and it lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°N (a small area is south of 14°), and longitudes 100° and 108°E.
The 1957 document was abrogated in December 1975, when a communist people's republic was proclaimed.
A new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP. === Foreign relations === The foreign relations of Laos after the takeover by the Pathet Lao in December 1975 were characterised by a hostile posture toward the West, with the government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic aligning itself with the Soviet Bloc, maintaining close ties with the Soviet Union and depending heavily on the Soviets for most of its foreign assistance.
After the Pathet Lao took over the country in 1975, the conflict continued in isolated pockets.
It is a hand-woven silk skirt that can identify the woman who wears it in a variety of ways. === Cinema === Since the founding of the Lao PDR in 1975, very few films have been made in Laos.
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.
Laos also maintained a "special relationship" with Vietnam and formalised a 1977 treaty of friendship and cooperation that created tensions with China. Laos's emergence from international isolation has been marked through improved and expanded relations with other nations such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, Australia, France, Japan, and Sweden.
In 1977, a communist newspaper promised the party would hunt down the "American collaborators" and their families "to the last root".
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.
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. 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.
The first feature-length film made after the monarchy was abolished is Gun Voice from the Plain of Jars, directed by Somchith Pholsena in 1983, although its release was prevented by a censorship board.
Other Hmong fighters hid out in mountains in Xiangkhouang Province for many years, with a remnant emerging from the jungle in 2003. In 1989, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the US government, instituted the Comprehensive Plan of Action, a programme to stem the tide of Indochinese refugees from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
In 2009, despite the fact that the government is still officially communist, the Obama administration in the US declared Laos was no longer a Marxist–Leninist state and lifted bans on Laotian companies receiving financing from the US Export-Import Bank. In 2016, China was the biggest foreign investor in Laos's economy, having invested in US$5.395 billion since 1989, according to Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment's 1989–2014 report.
It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company. === Tourism === The tourism sector has grown rapidly, from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876 million in 2010, when tourism had been expected to rise to US$1.5857 billion by 2020.
In 1990 only 8% of the rural population had access to improved sanitation.
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.
A new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP. === Foreign relations === The foreign relations of Laos after the takeover by the Pathet Lao in December 1975 were characterised by a hostile posture toward the West, with the government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic aligning itself with the Soviet Bloc, maintaining close ties with the Soviet Union and depending heavily on the Soviets for most of its foreign assistance.
Prominent civil society advocates, human rights defenders, political and religious dissidents, and Hmong refugees have disappeared at the hands of Lao military and security forces. Ostensibly, the Constitution of Laos that was promulgated in 1991 and amended in 2003 contains most key safeguards for human rights.
Laos had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.59/10, ranking it 98th globally out of 172 countries. In 1993 the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for habitat conservation preservation.
Of those Hmong who did return to Laos, some quickly escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities. In 1993, Vue Mai, a former Hmong soldier and leader of the largest Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, who had been recruited by the US Embassy in Bangkok to return to Laos as proof of the repatriation programme's success, disappeared in Vientiane.
In a 23 October 1995 National Review article, Michael Johns, the former Heritage Foundation foreign policy expert and Republican White House aide, labelled the Hmong's repatriation a Clinton administration "betrayal", describing the Hmong as a people "who have spilled their blood in defense of American geopolitical interests".
Access rose rapidly from 10 percent in 1995 to 38 percent in 2008.
Between 1995 and 2008 approximately 1,232,900 more people had access to improved sanitation in rural areas.
From 1975 to 1996, the United States resettled some 250,000 Lao refugees from Thailand, including 130,000 Hmong. == Geography == Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and it lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°N (a small area is south of 14°), and longitudes 100° and 108°E.
In 1996 as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, and under mounting political pressure, the United States agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a new screening process.
Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997; on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership.
Laos was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997 and acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2016.
The organisation also raised concerns in relation to freedom of expression, poor prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of religions, protection of refugees and asylum-seekers, and the death penalty. In October 1999, 30 young people were arrested for attempting to display posters calling for peaceful economic, political and social change in Laos.
Other Hmong fighters hid out in mountains in Xiangkhouang Province for many years, with a remnant emerging from the jungle in 2003. In 1989, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the US government, instituted the Comprehensive Plan of Action, a programme to stem the tide of Indochinese refugees from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the United States, in a significant victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees in 2003.
Prominent civil society advocates, human rights defenders, political and religious dissidents, and Hmong refugees have disappeared at the hands of Lao military and security forces. Ostensibly, the Constitution of Laos that was promulgated in 1991 and amended in 2003 contains most key safeguards for human rights.
Trade relations with the United States were normalised in November 2004 through Congress approved legislation.
Government expenditure on health is about four percent of GDP, about US$18 (PPP) in 2006. === Education === The adult literacy rate for women in 2017 was 62.9%; for adult men, 78.1%. In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was 84%.
In 2005 it attended the inaugural East Asia Summit. === Military === On 17 May 2014, Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit was killed in a plane crash, along with other top ranking officials.
According to the October 2007 UNODC fact book Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia, the poppy cultivation area was , down from in 2006. === Climate === The climate is mostly tropical savanna and influenced by the monsoon pattern.
Government expenditure on health is about four percent of GDP, about US$18 (PPP) in 2006. === Education === The adult literacy rate for women in 2017 was 62.9%; for adult men, 78.1%. In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was 84%.
According to the October 2007 UNODC fact book Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia, the poppy cultivation area was , down from in 2006. === Climate === The climate is mostly tropical savanna and influenced by the monsoon pattern.
Healthy life expectancy was 54 years in 2007.
Access rose rapidly from 10 percent in 1995 to 38 percent in 2008.
Between 1995 and 2008 approximately 1,232,900 more people had access to improved sanitation in rural areas.
One of the first commercial feature-length films was Sabaidee Luang Prabang, made in 2008.
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. ==Etymology== The English word Laos was coined by the French, who united the three Lao kingdoms in French Indochina in 1893 and named the country as the plural of the dominant and most common ethnic group, the Lao people.
In the Lao language, the country's name is Muang Lao (ເມືອງລາວ) or Pathet Lao (ປະເທດລາວ), both of which literally mean 'Lao Country'. == History == === 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.
On 25 September 2009, Laos ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, nine years after signing the treaty.
They were to have been released by October 2009, but their whereabouts remain unknown.
In 2009, despite the fact that the government is still officially communist, the Obama administration in the US declared Laos was no longer a Marxist–Leninist state and lifted bans on Laotian companies receiving financing from the US Export-Import Bank. In 2016, China was the biggest foreign investor in Laos's economy, having invested in US$5.395 billion since 1989, according to Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment's 1989–2014 report.
Because of 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. In 1975 the Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975.
It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company. === Tourism === The tourism sector has grown rapidly, from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876 million in 2010, when tourism had been expected to rise to US$1.5857 billion by 2020.
In 2010, one in every 11 jobs was in the tourism sector.
Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 16% of total exports or US$270.3 million in 2010, growing in nominal terms to US$484.2 million (12.5% of the total) in 2020.
The organization estimates that there are 173,800 French speakers in Laos (2010 est.). English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has become increasingly studied in recent years. === Religion === Sixty-six percent of Laotians were Theravada Buddhist, 1.5 percent Christian, 0.1 percent Muslim, 0.1 percent Jewish, and 32.3 percent were other or traditional (mostly practitioners of Satsana Phi) in 2010.
, Nhân Dân ('The People') and the Xinhua News Agency are the only foreign media organisations permitted to open offices in Laos—both opened bureaus in Vientiane in 2011. The Lao government controls all media channels to prevent critique of its actions.
The irrigated areas under cultivation account for only 28% of the total area under cultivation which, in turn, represents only 12% of all of the agricultural land in 2012.
Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997; on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership.
A new province, Xaisomboun Province, was established on 13 December 2013.
The European Council on Trade and Tourism awarded the country the "World Best Tourist Destination" designation for 2013 for architecture and history. Luang Prabang and Vat Phou are both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Entitled The Rocket, the film appeared at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival and won three awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.
One production company's film that has succeeded to produce Lao feature films and gain international recognition is Lao New Wave Cinema's At the Horizon, directed by Anysay Keola, that was screened at the OzAsia Film Festival and Lao Art Media's Chanthaly (Lao: ຈັນທະລີ) directed by Mattie Do, which was screened at the 2013 Fantastic Fest.
An "urban" village is essentially a town. !An updated map of Lao provinces (from 2014) |} == Government and politics == The Lao People's Democratic Republic is one of the world's only socialist states openly endorsing communism.
In 2005 it attended the inaugural East Asia Summit. === Military === On 17 May 2014, Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit was killed in a plane crash, along with other top ranking officials.
Songthaews are used in the country for long-distance and local public transport. === Water supply === According to the World Bank data conducted in 2014, Laos has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on water and sanitation regarding the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme.
Laos was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997 and acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2016.
In The Economist's Democracy Index 2016 Laos was classified as an "authoritarian regime", ranking lowest of the nine ASEAN nations included in the study.
In 2009, despite the fact that the government is still officially communist, the Obama administration in the US declared Laos was no longer a Marxist–Leninist state and lifted bans on Laotian companies receiving financing from the US Export-Import Bank. In 2016, China was the biggest foreign investor in Laos's economy, having invested in US$5.395 billion since 1989, according to Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment's 1989–2014 report.
In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights conducted an official visit to Laos and found that the country's top-down approach to economic growth and poverty alleviation "is all too often counterproductive, leading to impoverishment and jeopardizing the rights of the poor and marginalised." The country's most widely recognised product may well be Beerlao, which in 2017 was exported to more than 20 countries worldwide.
Theravada Buddhism has coexisted peacefully since its introduction to the country with the local polytheism. === Health === Male life expectancy at birth was at 62.6 years and female life expectancy was at 66.7 years in 2017.
Government expenditure on health is about four percent of GDP, about US$18 (PPP) in 2006. === Education === The adult literacy rate for women in 2017 was 62.9%; for adult men, 78.1%. In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was 84%.
The 2017 documentary feature film Blood Road was predominantly shot and produced in Laos with assistance from the Lao government, it was recognized with a News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2018. Australian filmmaker Kim Mordount's first feature film was made in Laos and features a Laotian cast speaking their native language.
Only 3.5% of women and 2.1% of men between the ages of 15–49 were in a polygynous union as of 2017. === Sport === The martial art of muay Lao, the national sport, is a form of kickboxing similar to Thailand's muay Thai, Burmese Lethwei and Cambodian Pradal Serey. Association football is the most popular sport in Laos.
In 2017, the country sent a team for the first time to the team events at the Southeast Asian Games.
120 out of 156 countries in the Index of Geopolitical Gains and Losses (GeGaLo Index) after energy transition and thus should improve renewable energy governance to be among the winners of the global energy transition. In 2018, the country ranked 139th on the Human Development Index (HDI), indicating medium development.
However, as of 2018, there are approximately 1.9 million of Lao's population who could not access an improved water supply and 2.4 million people without access to improved sanitation. Laos has made particularly noteworthy progress increasing access to sanitation.
The 2017 documentary feature film Blood Road was predominantly shot and produced in Laos with assistance from the Lao government, it was recognized with a News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2018. Australian filmmaker Kim Mordount's first feature film was made in Laos and features a Laotian cast speaking their native language.
Laos had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.59/10, ranking it 98th globally out of 172 countries. In 1993 the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for habitat conservation preservation.
In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights conducted an official visit to Laos and found that the country's top-down approach to economic growth and poverty alleviation "is all too often counterproductive, leading to impoverishment and jeopardizing the rights of the poor and marginalised." The country's most widely recognised product may well be Beerlao, which in 2017 was exported to more than 20 countries worldwide.
It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company. === Tourism === The tourism sector has grown rapidly, from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876 million in 2010, when tourism had been expected to rise to US$1.5857 billion by 2020.
Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 16% of total exports or US$270.3 million in 2010, growing in nominal terms to US$484.2 million (12.5% of the total) in 2020.
Laos has the youngest population of any country in Asia with a median age of 21.6 years. Laos's population was estimated at 7.45 million in 2020, dispersed unevenly across the country.
Vientiane prefecture, the capital and largest city, had about 683,000 residents in 2020. === Ethnicity === The people of Laos are often categorised by their distribution by elevation: (lowlands, midlands and upper high lands) as this somewhat correlates with ethnic groupings.
He has been General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, who serves as the de facto leader of Laos, since January 2021.
As of 2021, despite cheap hydro power available in the country, Laos continues to also rely on fossil fuels, coal in particular, in the domestic electricity production.
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