LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

• Official name: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao (Lao People's Democratic Republic, commonly called the Lao PDR). Lao people dislike the French form "Laos", which they pronounce without the "s."
• Location: South-East Asia
• International organisations: Association of South East Asian Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, United Nations
• Borders: Burma, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam
• Coastline: None
• Land area: 236,800 Km2
• Population: 6,300,000
• Annual GDP (PPP) per capita: US$2,100 (2009 CIA estimate). World ranking: 152
• Ethnicity: More than 80% of the population are Lao, while most of the remainder belong to various indigenous minorities such as the Hmong and the Yao. There are small Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese minorities.
• Languages: Lao is the official language and is spoken by about 75% of the population. The remainder speak various minority languages, the largest being Khmu, Thai and Hmong.
• Religion: About 60% of the population are Buddhists, while most of the remainder follow local animist religions. There is a small Catholic Christian minority.
• Form of government: In form, a presidential republic, in practice a communist dictatorship. The Lao PDR is divided into 16 provinces, one municipality and one special administrative zone.
• Capital: Viang Chan (the government dislikes the French spelling Vientianne)
• Constitution: The Constitution of the Lao People's Democratic Republic came into effect on 14 August 1991.
• Head of state: The President, elected by the legislature for a five-year term. The President's power is derived from his position as head of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
• Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President.
• Legislature: The Lao PDR has a unicameral legislature. The National Assembly (Sapha Heng Xat) has 115 members, who serve five-year terms. The legislature was last "elected" on 30 April 2006. In practice its membership is determined by the Communist Party and its functions are decorative.
• Electoral authority: None
• Freedom House 2009 rating: Political Rights 7, Civil Liberties 6

Political history

The Lao kingdom, founded in the 14th century, was being squeezed out of existence between the expanding powers of Vietnam and Thailand when the French arrived in Indo-China in the mid 19th century. In 1893 the Lao king accepted a French protectorate, and the Lao lands were effectively ruled by the French governor-general in Hanoi. The country was occupied by the Japanese in 1940, and in 1945 an independence movement declared Lao independence.

The French re-established control, recognising an independent Lao kingdom within the French Community. The communist-controlled Pathet Lao movement, supported by the Vietnamese communists, launched armed resistance to the French. In 1953 the French withdrew, leaving the Lao monarchists to fight the communists. In 1960 the United States stepped in to replace France as the protector of the Lao government. An attempt to create a neutralist coalition government broke down in 1965 and fighting resumed.

The war continued intermittently until 1973, when a ceasefire was followed by the creation of a coalition government. In 1975, following the communist victory in Vietnam, the Pathet Lao led by Kaysone Phomvihane took full control and the monarchy was abolished. The communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) has held a monopoly of power ever since. For most of its history the LPRP has been to a large extent a subsidiary of the Vietnamese communist party, but in recent years Chinese influence has grown rapidly.

Since the death of Kaysone Phomvihane in 1992, there has been some limited economic reform, in particular the opening up to Thai and other foreign investment, and more recently to tourism. This has lifted living standards in urban areas. Although there has been no political reform, there has been considerable relaxation of the party's supervision of the people's daily lives. The current party leader is Choummaly Sayasone, who became President of the Lao PDR in March 2006. Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh was forced to resign in December 2010, apparently because of resistance from the LPRP to his efforts to stamp out corruption. He was replaced by a conservative, Thongsing Thammavong

Freedom House's 2009 report on the Lao PDR says: "[The Lao PDR] is not an electoral democracy. The 1991 constitution makes the LPRP the sole legal political party and grants it a leading role at all levels of government. The LPRP vets all candidates for election to the rubber-stamp National Assembly, whose 115 members elect the president... Corruption and abuses by government officials are widespread. Official announcements and new laws aimed at curbing corruption are rarely enforced. [The Lao PDR] was ranked 151 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index... Freedom of the press is severely restricted [and] The state owns all media... The government severely restricts freedom of assembly... The courts are corrupt and controlled by the LPRP. Long delays in court hearings are common, particularly for cases dealing with public grievances and complaints against government abuses."

Updated March 2011