Laos—Profile | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

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Laos Summary

Laos—Profile

(2001 pop. 5.6 million). The landlocked and multiethnic Lao People's Democratic Republic has passed through many vicissitudes of history. It has maintained its unity and national identity in spite of foreign invasions and interference, poverty, and ideological conflict.

Geography

Situated in the northern part of the Indochinese peninsula in mainland Southeast Asia, Laos is bordered by China in the north, Myanmar (Burma) in the northwest, Thailand to the south and west, Vietnam to the east, and Cambodia to the south. It is 236,800 square kilometers in area. Some 1,835 kilometers of the Mekong river flows through it from north to south. Rugged lands, dense forests and mountainous terrain dominate most of the country. Two-thirds of the country is thick subtropical forest. Laos has a tropical monsoon climate, with a rainy season from May to October and a dry season from November to April.

People

With an average of nineteen people per square kilometer, Laos is one of the least densely populated countries in Asia. There are four broad population groupings in Laos: the Lao Lum (valley Lao, 68 percent), the Lao Theung (mountainside Lao, 22 percent), Lao Sung (mountaintop Lao, including Hmong and Yao, 9 percent), and ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese (1 percent). Diverse ethnic groups have settled in Laos in different periods of its history. The Lao Lum, originally a Tai people from southern China, migrated to Laos from the seventh century onwards. Belonging to the Mon-Khmer stock, the Lao Theung are the oldest inhabitants; they arrived in prehistoric times. Emigration from Laos became frequent after Laos became Communist in the latter part of 1975. At the start of the twenty-first century, 10 percent of the world's Lao population lived in Thailand, the United States, France, Canada, and Australia. About 80 percent of the population in Laos itself lived in rural areas. Lao is the nation's official language. The Marxist government sanctions Buddhism as the state religion.

History

A number of kingdoms, centered on urban settlements, arose in the beginning of the first century BCE. Parts of Laos came under the control of the Mon kingdoms of Dvaravati and Funan before the seventh century CE, but Prince Fa Ngoum (1353–1373), a Lao, founded the first unified state, Lan Xang (land of a million elephants) in 1353. The powerful Lan Xang kingdom ruled Laos and areas of the Cambodian plateau, northeastern Thailand, and parts of Yunnan. In 1559 Laos lost control over the Vientiane region to Bayinnaung (1550–1581), the ruler of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty; the area remained under Burmese control until 1637, when the Lan Xang kingdom reasserted itself. Internal dissension and powerful neighbors brought its decline in 1713, and it splintered into the three kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Bassac. Laos became a French protectorate in 1893. During World War II, the Japanese took control of Laos and declared it independent; after the war, the Franco-Laotian Convention of July 1949 granted Laos internal autonomy only, leaving France in control of Laos's foreign and defense affairs. The Pathet Lao, a Communist nationalist movement, opposed the reestablishment of French control, and Laos was soon engulfed in the First Indochina War. Civil war continued through the 1960s, with the only hopes for peace pinned on the outcome of the conflict in Vietnam. On 2 December 1975, the Pathet Lao succeeded in establishing the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Suffering from the effects of three decades of war, Laos became dependent on Vietnam, with whom it signed a twenty-five-year treaty of friendship in 1977.

Toward the end of 1980s, Laos's leadership moved away from ideological rigidity and began a program of liberalizing the economy. A new liberal constitution was promulgated in August 1991, and relations with China, Thailand, the United States, and other Western countries improved. Laos became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997. In spite of these advances, charges of humanrights violations are still made, with the allegation that the government has been responsible for the disappearance of some 300,000 people from 1975 to 2001. In March 2001, the Lao National Assembly decided to retain party chairman Khamtay Siphandone as president but made Boungnang Vorachit the premier.

Economy

The people of Laos have one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world (300 dollars), with about 46 percent of the population living below the poverty line. However, using the purchasing-power parity measure, gross domestic product per capita is estimated to be a much higher $1,700, reflective of the relatively low cost of living in the country. About 70 percent of the people are farmers; common crops include rice, sweet potatoes, and coffee. Laos is rich in natural resources, including tin, copper, gold, lead, and timber. Its main items of export are electricity, timber and wood products, tin, textiles, and coffee, and its leading trade partners are Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. Laos imports petroleum products, machinery and equipment, vehicles, cement, and steel. Although Asia's regional economic crisis of the mid-1990s hurt Laos, by the middle of 2000 its economy had stabilized. As a member of Mekong River Commission Council (MRCC), which Laos joined in 2001, Laos expects to boost rice production. At the start of the twenty-first century, its currency, the kip, hovered at between 7,500 and 8,000 to one U.S. dollar.

Culture

Interaction with the Khmer, Thai, and Indians has enriched the indigenous culture of Laos. Classical Lao literature, inscriptions, and language show Sanskrit and Pali influence. Themes from Indian literature are in abundance in folk songs, dramas, and theater. TheLao version of the Ramayana, the Phra Lak Pha Lam, reflects the environment and culture of Laos. It is a dance-drama performed to the accompaniment of Lao classical music.

Laos is a largely rural nation. Here, men stand with their cattle in the village of Pan Phanom in Luang Prabang Province. (BOHEMIAN NOMAD PICTUREMAKERS/CORBIS)

Religion According to tradition, Buddhism came to Laos during the reign of the Indian emperor Asoka (reigned c. 265–238 BCE). Sculptures of Buddha in a standing position are distinctively indigenous. Lao religious life also is marked by belief in wandering spirits and souls of departed ones (phi).

Festivals Popular festivals include Boun Pimai, which celebrates the Lao New Year over the course of several days in April. In Luang Prabang, Boun Pimai celebrations include ablutions for Buddhist icons. Boun Bang Fai celebrates the start of the rainy season in May. At this festival, giant homemade bamboo rockets are launched skyward to summon the rains. The festival of Haw Khao Padap Din, which occurs in August, is a time to pay respects to the dead. November is the occasion of a huge festival at the temple of That Luang (the national symbol of Laos) in Vientiane. It takes place on the week of the full moon.

Music Although Laos has a long history of classical music, decades of warfare and instability have led to its decline. Folk music remains popular; the most common form of musical instrument is the khean, or Lao panpipe, seven pairs of pipes made of bamboo. It provides the music for the most popular folk dance, the Lamvong, or Circle Dance, a folk dance in which couples move in circles.

Laos in the Twenty-First Century

In the early twenty-first century, Laos continues to move prudently from ideological orthodoxy to economic pragmatism. There are signs of relative openness in society, although the regime still does not tolerate dissent. It is evident that the predictions of some pundits that Laos would cease to exist as a nation-state were wrong. Tentatively, Laos is moving toward a better future.

Patit Paban Mishra