Laos 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 3 Laos 4 Asia 5 Chapter 2 7 Political Overview 7 History 8 Political Conditions 10 Political Risk Index 17 Political Stability 31 Freedom Rankings 46 Human Rights 58 Government Functions 61 Government Structure 62 Principal Government Officials 64 Leader Biography 65 Leader Biography 66 Foreign Relations 67 National Security 69 Defense Forces 70 Chapter 3 73 Economic Overview 73 Economic Overview 74 Nominal GDP and Components 77 Population and GDP Per Capita 78 Real GDP and Inflation 79 Government Spending and Taxation 80 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 81 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 82 Data in US Dollars 83 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 84 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 86 World Energy Price Summary 87 CO2 Emissions 88 Agriculture Consumption and Production 89 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 91 Metals Consumption and Production 92 World Metals Pricing Summary 95 Economic Performance Index 96 Chapter 4 108 Investment Overview 108 Foreign Investment Climate 109 Foreign Investment Index 113 Corruption Perceptions Index 126 Competitiveness Ranking 138 Taxation 147 Stock Market 147 Partner Links 147 Chapter 5 149 Social Overview 149 People 150 Human Development Index 152 Life Satisfaction Index 156 Happy Planet Index 167 Status of Women 176 Global Gender Gap Index 179 Culture and Arts 188 Etiquette 188 Travel Information 189 Diseases/Health Data 202 Chapter 6 208 Environmental Overview 208 Environmental Issues 209 Environmental Policy 209 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 211 Global Environmental Snapshot 222 Global Environmental Concepts 233 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 247 Appendices 271 Bibliography 272 Laos Chapter 1 Country Overview Laos Review 2016 Page 1 of 284 pages Laos Country Overview LAOS Located in Southeast Asia, Laos is a small, landlocked, and mountainous country. The first united Lao kingdom known as Lan Xang was founded in 1353 and included much of modern Thailand. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco- Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy in 1954. In 1975, Communist forces took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime. Since coming to power, the communist government imposed a command economy system, replacing the private sector with state enterprises and cooperatives. The Lao government began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in the mid-1980s, and the country began opening up to the world in the 1990s. However, Laos today remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Laos Review 2016 Page 2 of 284 pages Laos Key Data Key Data Region: Asia Population: 6911544 Tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December Climate: to April) Languages: Lao (official), French, English, Various ethnic languages Currency: 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at Holiday: National Day is 2 December (1975), Pathet Lao Day is 6 January Area Total: 236800 Area Land: 230800 Coast Line: 0 Laos Review 2016 Page 3 of 284 pages Laos Laos Country Map Laos Review 2016 Page 4 of 284 pages Laos Asia Regional Map Laos Review 2016 Page 5 of 284 pages Laos Laos Review 2016 Page 6 of 284 pages Laos Chapter 2 Political Overview Laos Review 2016 Page 7 of 284 pages Laos History The Khmer people from the 10th to 12th centuries dominated Laos. In 1353, King Fa Ngum first united Laos, and established the kingdom of Lan Xang (literally meaning "million elephants.") King Fa Ngum established his capital at Luang Prabang, and the kingdom then covered much in today's Laos and Thailand. Buddhism had been prevailing in the region, and King Fa Ngum set it up as the state religion of the kingdom. From the 16th century, the Lan Xang Kingdom began to decline because of dynastic struggles and conflicts with Burma (now Myanmar) and Siam (now Thailand). The conflicts lasted for about two centuries, leading to the division of the kingdom. As a result, the unified Lan Xang Kingdom was dissolved into rival states by the year 1700. In the 18th century, Laos was under Siamese (Thai) rule as a result of competition for control of the region between the Burmese and Siamese Kingdoms. In the 19th century, Laos was divided into three principalities of Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champassak. Late in the 19th century, the French supplanted the Siamese as controllers of Laos. France integrated most of Laos into the French empire as directly ruled provinces as a result of colonization. France also established Luang Prabang as its protectorate. Thus, Laos became part of French Indochina. In the 1907 treaty between France and Thailand (then Siam), the present boundary between Laos and Thailand was defined. During World War II, the Japanese occupied Laos as well as rest of French Indochina. Just before Japan's surrender in 1945, King Sisavang Vong of Luang Prabang was induced to declare independence from France. In September 1945, an independent government was formed by Vientiane and Champassak united with Luang Prabang under the Free Lao (Lao Issara) banner. Later, the anti-French Free Lao government overthrew King Sisavang Vong as he proclaimed continuation of Laos as a French protectorate. Then, in April 1946, King Sisavang Vong was enthroned as constitutional monarch after he accepted the Free Lao constitution. Laos Review 2016 Page 8 of 284 pages Laos France reoccupied Laos in May 1946, and Laos was given limited autonomy after elections for a constituent assembly. On July 19, 1949, France formally recognized the independence of Laos within the French Union, and Laos remained a member of the union until 1953. From 1954 to 1957, pro-Western governments ran Laos. In 1957, the first coalition government led by Prince Souvanna Phouma was formed in Laos. In 1958, the coalition government was broken up with the imprisonment of the communist Lao Patriotic Front (LPF) leaders by the government. Rightist forces took control of the government afterward, but in 1959 the communist insurgency resumed in the country as the LPF leaders escaped from prison. In 1960, a coup d'etat took place in Vientiane by a paratroop captain Kong Le who demanded forming a neutralist government to end the fighting. The neutralist government was formed under Souvanna Phouna, but rightist forces led by General Phoumi Nosavan later that year replaced it. In response, Kong Le and the LPF formed an alliance, which was supported by North Vietnam and the Soviet Union, while the United States supported Phoumi Nosavan's rightist regime. During the second Geneva Conference held in 1961-62, an agreement was reached for the independence and neutrality of Laos. Soon after that, the signatories of the accord began to blame each other of violating the terms of the agreement, and the civil war started again with the superpowers supporting each side. In 1972, the Communist People's Party renamed itself the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), and it joined a new coalition government in 1973. In the mean time, political struggles between communists, neutralists and rightists continued. The coalition government of Laos suffered a sharp decline in 1975 when communists claimed victories in Vietnam and Cambodia. On Dec. 2, 1975, the King of Laos gave up his throne, and the communist Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) was established when the coalition cabinet was dissolved by the LPRP. The new communist government of Laos adopted the centralized decision making for its economic activities and excised broad, rigid security measures. The media was under the control of the government, and a large number of the former government and military personnel were arrested and put into re-education camps. The enforced political control as well as the worsening economic conditions forced many Lao people to seek refuge in other countries. About 10 percent of the Lao population left the country to seek refuge after 1975. From among them, about 250,000 went to the United States. Laos Review 2016 Page 9 of 284 pages Laos In the late 1980s, the Lao government closed most of the re-education camps, and many political prisoners were released from prisons. By the end of 1997, 27,600 Lao refugees returned to Laos: 3,500 from China, and the rest from Thailand. Through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and non-governmental organizations, the United States has supported a variety of reintegration assistance programs throughout Laos. Note on History: In certain entries, open source content from the State Department Background Notes and Country Guides have been used. A full listing of sources is available in the Bibliography. Political Conditions On December 2, 1975, the King of Laos gave up his throne, and the communist Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) -- the successor to the People's Communist Party -- was established. In this way, Laos has been ruled by a communist government since 1975. From 1975, the communist regime instituted strict socialist policies. The 1980s saw political in- fighting between conservatives with "revolutionary credentials" and technocrats with Western training. This led to the expulsion of members on the basis of ideological shortcomings or corruption. In 1985, however, when the party celebrated "correct and creative leadership," Laos had become a nation with poor economic, industrial, educational and health standards. By 1986, the failure of the party policies led to a reform program called the "New Economic Mechanism." Friction between economic reformists and social orthodoxy continued, however, until pressure from the International Monetary Fund led to some measure of economic liberalization, hastened by the crumbling of the Soviet bloc.