It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company. Southeast Asia is a region in the southern part of Asia that is composed of 11 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand . "Patuxai is a war monument in the centre of Vientiane, Laos, which was built between 1957 and 1968. Trekking in Luang Namtha The area was originally settled because of the fertility of the surrounding alluvial plains, and Vientiane became the capital city of Laos around the mid 16th century. [76] As many as 200,000 Hmong went into exile in Thailand, with many ending up in the US. For example, Khammu farmers in Luang Prabang plant the rice variety khao kam in small quantities near the farm house in memory of dead parents, or at the edge of the rice field to indicate that parents are still alive.[162]. English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has become increasingly studied in recent years. As of 2011[update], Nhn Dn ('The People') and the Xinhua News Agency are the only foreign media organisations permitted to open offices in Laosboth opened bureaus in Vientiane in 2011. [151] Zaisan Memorial,Ulan Bator,Mongolia. 3, "Through Chaos to a New Order", in, Sanda Simms, ch. Area 236,800 sq km (91,400 sq miles) Major languages Lao, French. [86] In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun. Most of these projects will be carried out through public-private partnerships under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model as the government is encouraging the private sector . Laos has nine daily newspapers, 90 magazines, 43 radio stations, and 32 TV stations operating throughout the country. In their opposition of the repatriation plans, Democratic and Republican Members of Congress challenged the Clinton administration's position that the government of Laos was not systematically violating Hmong human rights. By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos. provided 70% of the funding for a $5.9 billion, 400-km railway line between the Chinese border and the capital Vientiane, which opened for operations in December 2021. [75], Some Hmong groups fought as CIA-backed units on the royalist side in the Laotian Civil War. Laos is the only landlocked nation in Southeast Asia. Its thickly forested landscape consists mostly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia at 2,818 metres (9,245ft), with some plains and plateaus. [152], 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. Vientiane was a Khmer (remember Cambodia?) He later died under suspicious circumstances in a re-education camp. Pakse. A new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP. The Lao PDR is one of the world's few socialist states openly endorsing communism. About 3km to the north of the city, it is easy to reach the centre from the airport by taxi, tuk tuk or bus. [141] Laos's progress is notable in comparison to similar developing countries. [98][99] 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. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. [130] According to the Global Hunger Index (2018), Laos ranks as the 36th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation(s). While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, allegations of forced repatriation surfaced. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos, which include the Lua and Khmu people who are indigenous to Laos. [141] Laos's predominantly rural[142] population makes investing in sanitation difficult. French is also used in public works in central and southern Laos and Luang Prabang and is a language of diplomacy and of the elite classes, higher professions and elders. [167] 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[168] and Lao Art Media's Chanthaly (Lao: ) directed by Mattie Do, which was screened at the 2013 Fantastic Fest. Shortly after, the Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were added to the protectorate. [25] Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos. As a low-income country, Laos faces a brain-drain problem as many educated people migrate to developed countries. Vientiane, the capital city of Laos in the 1990s. Currently unexploded ordnance (UXO), including cluster munitions and mines, kill or maim approximately 50 Laotians every year. [citation needed], Laos's emergence from international isolation has been marked through improved and expanded relations with other countries including Russia, China, Thailand, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. Laos Local Tour Company offers Laos tours, tailor made vacation packages travel services. [83] Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees had already been living. Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. [144], 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. [165] The 2017 documentary feature film Blood Road was predominantly shot and produced in Laos with assistance from the Lao government, it was recognised with a News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2018. Amongst them, 100,000 Hmongs30% of the entire Hmong populationand 90% of all of Lao intellectuals, specialists, and officials. [155] Government expenditure on health is about four percent of GDP,[155] about US$18 (PPP) in 2006. [131] 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 jeopardising the rights of the poor and marginalised. Lao Soung account for about 10% of the population. 1353 - Lan Xang (Million Elephants) Kingdom, founded in the 14th century by Fa Ngum. [90][91][92][93] The Thai foreign ministry has said that it will halt deportation of Hmong refugees held in Detention Centres in Nong Khai, while talks are underway to resettle them in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. Gently cut cilantro resting atop a raging furnace of flavor. [94] Plans to resettle additional Hmong refugees in the United States were stalled by provisions of President George W. Bush's Patriot Act and Real ID Act, under which Hmong veterans of the Secret War, who fought on the side of the United States, are classified as terrorists because of their historical involvement in armed conflict. The sinh is a traditional garment worn by Lao women in daily life. Laos's first expressway, the VientianeBoten Expressway, parallels both Route 13 and the BotenVientiane railway; the first section from Vientiane to Vang Vieng was opened in 2020, with other sections under construction. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of the Mekong, close to the Thai border.Vientiane was the administrative capital . [19] In English, the 's' is pronounced, and not silent. [15][16] 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. There is limited external and internal telecommunication, but mobile phones have become widespread. Many elements of Lao culture predate Buddhism. [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. 6, "Seventy Years of Anarchy", in. [104], In October 1999, 30 young people were arrested for attempting to display posters calling for peaceful economic, political and social change in Laos. [141] Access rose rapidly from 10 percent in 1995 to 38 percent in 2008. Evidence for modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, that constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. Moreover, 130,000 deaths can be attributed to the civil war. [54][55], 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 mountainous geography of Laos had impeded Laos's ground transportation development throughout the 20th century. He describes his experience in the Lao capital in fine detail, making the minutiae come alive. [175] Lao citizens who have criticised the government have been subjected to enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture. 3. The National University of Laos, one of the country's three universities, is located in Vientiane. [64] A new province, Xaisomboun province, was established on 13 December 2013. Pr-histria. Population 6.7 million. "Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand", U.P.I., 5 June 1991. [169][170] In September 2017, Laos submitted Dearest Sister (Lao: ), Mattie Do's second feature film, to the 90th Academy Awards (or the Oscars) for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, marking the country's first submission for the Oscars. It is a political term that includes the non-ethnic Lao groups within Laos and identifies them as "Laotian" because of their political citizenship. [139]:8 Songthaews are used in the country for long-distance and local public transport. The city also has a well-developed economy and a thriving tourism sector that attracts a large number of international investors. [17][18], The 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. Fa Ngum, with 10,000 Khmer troops, conquered many Lao principalities in the Mekong river basin, culminating in the capture of Vientiane. 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. [44] 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. The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is a developing country ruled by a one-party, Communist government. [125], Laos is rich in mineral resources and imports petroleum and gas. "[132], The country's most widely recognised product may well be Beerlao, which in 2017 was exported to more than 20 countries worldwide. The small nation is bordered by China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. The land has a total area of 236,800 km (91,429 mi). 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