Laos' isolation from foreign influence offers travellers an unparalleled glimpse of traditional southeast Asian life. From the fertile lowlands of the Mekong River valley to the rugged Annamite highlands, Laos is the highlight of southeast Asia.

This is the least developed and most enigmatic of the three former French Indochinese states. A ruinous sequence of colonial domination, internecine conflict and dogmatic socialism finally brought the country to its knees in the 1970s, and almost 10% of the population left the country.

Facts

Full Name
Lao People's Democratic Republic

Capital City
Vientiane

Area
236,000 sq km
91,120 sq miles

Population
6,000,000

Time Zone
GMT/UTC +7 ()

Languages
Lao (official)
Lao dialects (closely related to Thai) are also spoken
French (other)
English (other)

Religion
60% Buddhist, 40% animist and spirit cults

Currency
Kip (KN)