[75], Some Hmong groups fought as CIA-backed units on the royalist side in the Laotian Civil War. [64] A new province, Xaisomboun province, was established on 13 December 2013. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. The streets are lined with trees, French colonial buildings, street markets, Buddhist temples, and noodle shops. The country encompasses a total area of 237,955 square km and had a . The rebellion failed, and Vientiane was ransacked. [149], Hill people and minority cultures of Laos such as the Hmong, Yao (Mien) (Hmong-Mien), Dao, Shan, and several Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for many years. [1] These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians associated with the Hoabinhian cultureand have populated the highlands . The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong. Entitled The Rocket, the film appeared at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival and won three awards at the Berlin International Film Festival. The constitution and Family Code bar the legal recognition of polygamous marriages, stipulating that monogamy is the principal form of marriage in the country. Giant Buddha Statue Plan Rankles Residents of Laos' Capital: Report. With an estimated population of 760,000 in 2015, the city is also the most populous in the nation. [109], Laos and Vietnamese (SRV) troops were reported to have raped and killed four Christian Hmong women in Xiangkhouang Province in 2011, according to the US-based non-governmental public policy research organisation The Centre for Public Policy Analysis, which also said other Christian and independent Buddhist and animist believers were being persecuted. [182] Its national football team is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and of the ASEAN Football Federation. The 1957 document was abrogated in December 1975, when a communist people's republic was proclaimed. Many elements of Lao culture predate Buddhism. [80] Following the Vue Mai incident, debate over the Hmong's planned repatriation to Laos intensified greatly, especially in the United States, where it drew strong opposition from many American conservatives and some human rights advocates. 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. Recognised asylum seekers were given resettlement opportunities, while the remaining refugees were to be repatriated under guarantee of safety. Lao Basics: An Introduction to the Lao Language. [41] Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a labour shortage within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space. Major religion Buddhism. The organisation estimates that there are 173,800 French speakers in Laos (2010 est.). Since July, 2021 the United States has shared 2,908,440 safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses with the people of Laos - free of cost. The national carrier is Lao Airlines. 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. Wat Sisaket, Luang, and Phra Keo are the three most . Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. Theravada Buddhism has coexisted peacefully since its introduction to the country with the local polytheism. [104], In October 1999, 30 young people were arrested for attempting to display posters calling for peaceful economic, political and social change in Laos. 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". 400 AD - Theravada Buddhism was introduced to Laos. Vientiane, also spelled Viangchan, largest city and capital of Laos, situated on a plain just northeast of the Mekong River. [56], On 3 December 2021, the 422-kilometre Boten-Vientiane railway, a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was opened. [85] Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the United States, fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizeable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century. Sticky rice is a staple food and has cultural and religious significance to the Lao people. More than half of the nation's population is ethnic Laothe principal lowland inhabitants, and the politically and culturally dominant people of Laos. [14] It is a one-party socialist republic, espousing MarxismLeninism and governed by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, under which non-governmental organisations have routinely characterised the country's human rights record as poor, citing repeated abuses such as torture, restrictions on civil liberties and persecution of minorities. The restaurant serves a variety of local delicacies, such as Khao piak sen (a rice noodle soup), mok lao (an exotic coconut curry), and of course, Lao sausage. Other carriers serving the country include Bangkok Airways, Vietnam Airlines, AirAsia, Thai Airways and China Eastern Airlines. Pakxe has also experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam. Traveling to Laos and visiting Vientiane capital, you must not miss Wat Sisaket temple. Vientiane is the capital and largest city in Laos. The Patuxai, Vientiane Laos. All newspapers are published by the government, including two foreign language papers: the English-language daily Vientiane Times and the French-language weekly Le Rnovateur. [127] Of the potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, around 8,000 megawatts have been committed for export to Thailand and Vietnam. has been the most successful club with 8 titles, the highest number of championship wins. Laos is divided into 17 provinces (khoueng) and one prefecture (kampheng nakhon), which includes the capital city Vientiane (Nakhon Louang Viangchan). CIA agent Bill Lair met with the young Hmong military . As a low-income country, Laos faces a brain-drain problem as many educated people migrate to developed countries. 15. Biggest Cities In Laos Vientiane . It was built in 1556, when the capital was moved from Luang Prabang to Vientiene, and took 6 years to complete. [96][97] 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. [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. It has failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup or the AFC Asian Cup, but has participated in minor competitions like the AFC Solidarity Cup and the AFF Championship. [68] Laos also maintained a "special relationship" with Vietnam and formalised a 1977 treaty of friendship and cooperation that created tensions with China. This tourist attraction still holds more than 10 thousand Buddha statues, large and small. In 1990 only 8% of the rural population had access to improved sanitation. [154] Healthy life expectancy was 54 years in 2007. Patuxay, Vientiane Laos, Sunrise in the morning at at Patuxai. [47] Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1million 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". The capital of Laos is Vientiane, which was founded 13th century. Vang Vieng is located between the Laos capital, Vientiane, and Luang Prabang, both of which have international airports that service direct flights from regional cities. [108] In late February 2017, two of those imprisoned were finally released after 17 years. The city was destroyed, valuables and historical artifacts were looted, and the population fled. [59], In 1993 the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for habitat conservation preservation. Muay Lao is an ancient martial art practiced throughout Laos, but mainly in the capital 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. Pakse. "Muay" comes from the Sanskrit term meaning "to box" but is generally used to describe the unarmed martial art found throughout Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. [164] One of the first commercial feature-length films was Sabaidee Luang Prabang, made in 2008. The first bullet train to serve the high-speed Laos-China railway sits in a rail station in the Lao capital Vientiane, Oct. 16, 2021. [84] 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. At the eve of the Vietnam War, the Secret War was beginning in Laos as political factions between communist Pathet Lao and the government occurred. [citation needed], According to estimates, around 300,000 people fled to Thailand as a consequence of governmental repressions. ::", "Global Religious Landscape; Table: Religious Composition by Country", "Human Development Report 2009. Laos is a Lao speaking country that does not border with any sea. "Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand", U.P.I., 5 June 1991. The Laos government, through attorney Colin M. Thompson, filed the petition on Monday and also named Lao . Laos is a landlocked country located in the Indochinese Peninsula. This article is about the country in Southeast Asia. As the country opens up, with an increasing number of roads and bridges being built the tourist attractions are becoming more and more accessible. The nation's most important government buildings, ministries, departments and foreign embassies are located in Vientiane. [citation needed], 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. 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. [19] In English, the 's' is pronounced, and not silent. It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company. What is the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans. "[81] Republicans called several Congressional hearings on alleged persecution of the Hmong in Laos in an apparent attempt to generate further support for their opposition to the Hmong's repatriation to Laos. [101] On 25 September 2009, Laos ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, nine years after signing the treaty. [65] Settathirath disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into Cambodia, and Lan Xang fell into more than seventy years of instability, involving both Burmese invasion and civil war. [141] Laos's progress is notable in comparison to similar developing countries. Laos's strategies for development are based on generating electricity from rivers and selling the power to its neighbours, namely Thailand, China and Vietnam, as well as its initiative to become a "land-linked" nation, as evidenced by the construction of four new railways connecting Laos and neighbours. [139]:3940, In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was 84%. However, only slightly more than half of the population speaks Lao natively. There is limited external and internal telecommunication, but mobile phones have become widespread. [181], Association football is the most popular sport in Laos. 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