Laos
Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century. After a period as a French protectorate, it gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended officially when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975, but strife between factions continued for several years. The official language is Lao. Most people are Buddhist with a significant proportion of indigenous religion as well. It is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit and La Francophonie.
Etymology
The English pronunciation is "Lao", although there is some controversy and some[ insist that the 1893 pronunciation of "Laos" should be used.
The usual adjectival form is "Lao," e.g., "the Lao economy," not the "Laotian" economy — although "Laotian" is used to describe the people of Laos to avoid confusion with the Lao ethnic group. Since 1975 the official country name has been "Lao People's Democratic Republic".
History
In the 19th century, Luang Prabang was incorporated into the 'Protectorate' of French Indochina, and shortly thereafter, the Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were also added to the protectorate. Under the French, Vientiane once again became the capital of a unified Lao state.
Following a brief Japanese occupation during World War II, the country declared its independence in 1945, but the French under Charles de Gaulle re-asserted their control and only in 1950 was Laos granted semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the French Union. Moreover, the French remained in de facto control until 1954, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy.
Under a special exemption to the Geneva Convention, a French military training mission continued to support the Royal Lao Army. In 1955, the U.S. Department of Defense created a special Programs Evaluation Office to replace French support of the Royal Lao Army against the communist Pathet Lao as part of the U.S. containment policy.
Laos was dragged into the Vietnam War and the eastern parts of the country followed North Vietnam and adopted North Vietnam as a fraternal country. Laos allowed North Vietnam to use its land as a supply route for its war against the South Vietnam. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos and supported a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The result of these actions were a series of coups d'état and, ultimately, the Laotian Civil War between the Royal Laotian government and the communist Pathet Lao.
In the Civil War, the heavily armed and battle-hardened North Vietnamese Army was the real power behind the Pathet Lao insurgency. In 1968, the North Vietnamese Army launched a multi-division attack to help the communist Pathet Lao to fight against the Royal Lao Army. The attack resulted in the army largely demobilizing and leaving the conflict to irregular forces raised by the United States and Thailand. The attack resulted in many lost lives.
Massive aerial bombardment was carried out by the United States. The Guardian reported that Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bombload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the Second World War. Of the 260 million bombs that rained down, particularly on Xiangkhouang province, 80 million failed to explode, leaving a deadly legacy.It holds the distinction of being the most bombed country, per capita, in the world. Because it was particularly heavily affected by cluster bombs during this war, Laos was a strong advocate of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the weapons and assist victims, and will host the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.
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. Laos was requested in the late 1970s 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. The socialist system has slowly been replaced by the relaxation of economic restrictions in the 1980s and admission into ASEAN in 1997.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Laos
There is a distinct rainy season from May to November, followed by a dry season from December to April. Local tradition holds that there are three seasons (rainy, cold and hot) as the latter two months of the climatologically defined dry season are noticeably hotter than the earlier four months. The capital and largest city of Laos is Vientiane and other major cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Pakxe.
In 1993, the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for Habitat conservation preservation.[ The country is one of four in the opium poppy growing region known as the "Golden Triangle". According to the October 2007 UNODC fact book "Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia," the poppy cultivation area was 15 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi), down from 18 square kilometres (6.9 sq mi) in 2006.
Government and politics
Laos' first, French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on May 11, 1947 and declared it to be an independent state within the French Union. 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 on 3 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.
The following year, elections were held for a new 85-seat National Assembly with members elected by secret ballot to five-year terms. This National Assembly, which essentially acts as a rubber stamp for the LPRP, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in April 2006. The assembly was expanded to 99 members in 1997 and in 2006 elections had 115.
Administrative divisions
- Attapu
- Bokeo
- Bolikhamxai
- Champasak
- Houaphan
- Khammouan
- Loung Namtha
- Louangphabang
- Oudomxai
- Phongsali
- Salavan
- Savannakhet
- Vientiane Capital
- Vientiane Province
- Xaignabouli
- Xaisomboun (special administrative zone, dissolved in 2006)
- Xekong
- Xiangkhouang main article: Phonsavan - Province Capital
Economy
The Lao economy is heavily dependent on investment and trade with its neighbors, Thailand, Vietnam, and, especially in the north, China. Pakxe has also experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam.
Subsistence agriculture still accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80 percent of employment. Only 4.01 percent of the country is arable land, and 0.34 percent used as permanent crop land,[5] the lowest percentage in the Greater Mekong Subregion.[6] Rice dominates agriculture, with about 80 percent of the arable land area used for growing rice.[7] Approximately 77 percent of Lao farm households are self-sufficient in rice.[8]Through the development, release and widespread adoption of improved rice varieties, and through economic reforms, production has increased by an annual rate of 5 percent between 1990 and 2005,[9] and Lao PDR achieved a net balance of rice imports and exports for the first time in 1999.[10] Lao PDR may have the greatest number of rice varieties in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Since 1995 the Lao government has been working with the International Rice Research Institute to collect seed samples of each of the thousands of rice varieties found in Laos.[11]
The economy receives development aid from the IMF, ADB and other international sources, and foreign direct investment for development of the society, industry, hydropower and mining, most notably copper and gold. Tourism is the fastest-growing industry in the country. Economic development in Laos has been hampered by brain drain, with a skilled emigration rate of 37.4 percent in 2000.[12]
Laos is rich in mineral resources but imports petroleum and gas. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to develop the substantial deposits of coal, gold, bauxite, tin, copper and other valuable metals. In addition, the country's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy. Of the potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, around 8,000 megawatts have been committed for exporting to Thailand and Vietnam.[13]
Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Laos
The tourism sector has grown rapidly, from 14,400 tourists visiting Laos in 1990, to 1.1 million in 2005. Annual tourism sector revenues are expected to grow to $250–300 million by 2020.[14]Recently, Laos has become more popular with tourists among whom it is known for its relaxed style of living. It is seen to have elements of the "original Asia" lost elsewhere. The official tourism slogan is "Simply Beautiful". The attractions made most accessible to tourists are Buddhist culture in Luang Prabang, gastronomy in the capital of Vientiane, backpacking in Vang Vieng and ancient and modern culture and history in The Plain of Jars region (main article: Phonsavan), trekking in Phongsaly or Luang Namtha, elephants in Sainyabuli, and a cave in Oudomxay.
Infrastructure
Much of the country lacks adequate infrastructure. Laos has no railways, except a short link to connect Vientiane with Thailand over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. The major roads connecting the major urban centres, in particular Route 13, have been significantly upgraded in recent years, but villages far from major roads can be reached only through unpaved roads that may not be accessible year-round.There is limited external and internal telecommunication, but mobile phones have become widespread in urban centres. In many rural areas electricity is at least partly unavailable. Songthaews (pick-up trucks with benches) are used in the country for long-distance and local public transport.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Laos
69% of the country's people are ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and the politically and culturally dominant group. The Lao belong to the Tai linguistic group who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium AD. 8% belong to other "lowland" groups, which together with the Lao people make up the Lao Loum.
Hill people and minority cultures of Laos such as the Hmong (Miao), Yao (Mien), Dao, Shan, and several Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for many years. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos which include the Lua (Lua) and Khmu people who are indigenous to Laos. Today, the Lua people are considered endangered. Collectively, they are known as Lao Soung or highland Laotians. In the central and southern mountains, Mon-Khmer tribes, known as Lao Theung or mid-slope Laotians, predominate. Some Vietnamese, Chinese and Thailand Thai minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many left in two waves; after independence in the late 1940s and again after 1975.The term "Laotian" does not necessarily refer to the Lao language, ethnic Lao people, language or customs, but is a political term that also includes the non-ethnic Lao groups within Laos and identifies them as "Laotian" because of their political citizenship.
The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. The written language is based on Khmer writing script. Midslope and highland Lao speak an assortment of tribal languages. French, still common in government and commerce, is studied by many, while English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has become increasingly studied in recent years.
Laos has the youngest population of any country in Asia with a median age of 19.3 years.
Health
Main article: Health in Laos
Male life expectancy at birth was at 63.2 and female life expectancy was at 65.9 in 2007.[15] Healthy life expectancy was at 54 in 2006.[15] In 2006, two fifths of the population were not using an improved water resource.[15] Government expenditure on health is at about 4 % of the GDP.[15] Its amount was at US$ 18 (PPP) in 2006.[15][edit] Religion
Main article: Religion in Laos
The predominant religion in Laos is Theravada Buddhism which, along with the common animism practiced among the mountain tribes, coexists peacefully with spirit worship. There also are a small number of Christians, mostly restricted to the Vientiane area, and Muslims, mostly restricted to the Myanmar border region. Christian missionary work is regulated by the government.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Laos
See also: Art of Laos (disambiguation), Cuisine of Laos, Dance and theater of Laos, Festivals of Laos, and Music of Laos
The country has two World Heritage Sites: Luang Prabang and Vat Phou. The government is seeking the same status for the Plain of Jars.
Sticky Rice is a characteristic staple food and has cultural and religious significance to the Lao people. Sticky rice is generally preferred over jasmine rice, and sticky rice cultivation and production is thought to have originated in Laos. There are many traditions and rituals associated with rice production in different environments, and among many ethnic groups. For example, Khammu farmers in Luang Prabang plant the rice variety Khao Kam in small quantities near the hut in memory of dead parents, or at the edge of the rice field to indicate that parents are still alive.[18]
Education
Main article: Education in Laos
See also: Category:Schools in Laos
The adult literacy rate exceeds two thirds.[15] The male literacy rate exceeds the female literacy rate.[15] In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was at 84%.[15] The National University of Laos is the Laos state's public university.Marriage
Polygamy is officially a crime in Laos, though the penalty is minor. The constitution and Family Code bars the legal recognition of polygamous marriages, stipulating that monogamy is to be the principle key of contracting a marriage in the country. While rare, there have been cases of polygamy practiced within the Hmong people.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos
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