laos population 2021

The U.S. Air Force began bombing targets in Laos in 1964, flying planes like AC-130s and B-52s full of cluster bombs on covert missions based out of Thailand. By 1975, one-tenth of the population of Laos, or 200,000 civilians and members of the military, were dead. Sex ratio: Over the centuries, his conquered neighbors fought back, and the Thai people dominated large swaths of Laos from the late 1700s to the early 1800s. Due to decreasing fertility rates this proportion decreased to 34.5% in 2010. Today, Laos is the most heavily bombed nation in history. As a former CIA officer explained: “We’d negotiate with the tribal groups. Buddhist 67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5% (see Religion in Laos), Languages: Fa Ngum founded the first recorded Lao state of “Lan Xang,” or “The Kingdom of a Million Elephants,” in 1353. Largely dependent on Vietnamese aid, their leader was Prince Souphanouvong, the “Red Prince.” Born to a prince of Luang Prabang and a commoner, his education in Vietnam led him to become a disciple of Ho Chi Minh and, later, to lead the opposition against his half-brother, Souvanna Phouma, who was Prime Minister of Laos five different times (from 1951-1954, 1957-1958, in 1960 and again from 1962-1972) and preferred a coalition government balancing the Pathet Lao with more conservative forces. [10] whereas the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) recently revised the list to include 49 ethnicities consisting of over 160 ethnic groups. He pledged an additional $90 million in aid to remove unexploded ordnance on top of the $100 million that had been spent previously. In the 1979 book Air America by Christopher Robbins, later immortalized in the fictional "Air America" movie starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr., Robbins reports on how opium from Lao poppies was transported on American planes. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. President Kennedy wrote as early as 1961 that, “Laos…is a most inhospitable area in which to wage a campaign. Population. Xinh Mul (population of 3,164 in Laos, including Phong-Kniang and Puoc, also known as the Sing Mun) Tibeto-Burman. total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est. Laos' proximity to China made it critical to President Eisenhower to defend against communism. The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. A very small percentage of Laos is farmable, and the limited flat areas (lower lands) are found in the south and along the Mekong River border with Thailand. Animism is common among the mountain tribes. The village was at a crossroads of three highways leading in from Vietnam: the Mu Gia Pass, the Ban Karai Pass, and the Barthelme Pass. The lowest point is along the Mekong River at 229 ft. (70 m). The U. S. and Laotian governments permitted newsmen a rare glimpse of a military base in Laos with 250-pound bombs used to fight against the North Vietnamese in northern Laos. White Lotus Press. The organization closed in 1975 and reopened in 1991, resuming development work that focuses on improving the lives of vulnerable children. Connecticut Population History. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. With Buddhism as its main religion, there are hundreds of Buddhist monasteries, temples and stupas in just about every city in Laos, with the most popular ones scattered across Luang Prabang. The shipment of 300,000 China-donated COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, early on Monday. The officially neutral country became a battleground in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union, with American bombers dropping over two million tons of cluster bombs over Laos—more than all the bombs dropped during WWII combined. “If Laos were lost, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow,” Eisenhower told his National Security Council. In 1960, the CIA approached Vang Pao, a major general in the Royal Lao Army and a member of the Hmong minority in Laos, to be the chief of their secret army to push back the communist Pathet Lao. Laos' population was estimated at about 7.06 million in 2018, dispersed unevenly across the country. Eisenhower’s successors in the White House: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, all approved escalating air support for the guerrilla fighters, but not publicly. [11], Lao 53.2%, Khmu 11%, Hmong 9.2%, and other (over 100 minor ethnic groups) 26.6% (2015 census).[12]. If you are interested in Laos and the geography of Asia our large laminated map of Asia might be just what you need. female: 63% (2005 est. According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects, the population of Laos increased from 1.7 million in 1950 to 7.1 million in 2018. Declassified documents show that 728 Americans died in Laos, most of whom were working for the CIA. male: 83% under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female Decades-old craters are all over the village. The agreement was not signed by the United States, who feared that in the absence of French influence, Southeast Asia would fall to communist forces. The 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos, signed by China, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, the United States and 10 other countries, forbid signees from directly invading Laos or establishing military bases there. He recalls, “Sepon was the one place in Laos that we did not want to fly into. En 2016, la population du Laos s'élève à 7,02 millions d'habitants selon les chiffres de la CIA [1], répartis sur 236 800 km 2, soit une densité de population de 27,4 habitants par km 2. Air America was the lifeblood of the CIA’s Laos operation, transporting personnel, food and supplies to and from remote bases. This page provides - Laos GDP Annual Growth Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. In March 2005, the total population was 5.62 million (2.82 million females, 2.80 million males) in the 2005 census, an increase of 1.047 million since the previous 1995 census.[1]. American bombers dropped more than two million tons of bombs over the country as part of a covert attempt to wrest power from communist forces. adjective: Lao or Laotian, Religions: The total population in Nigeria was estimated at 206.14 million people in 2020, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. A cargo plane carrying the vaccines produced by Chinese pharmaceutic company Sinopharm arrived at the Wattay International Airport … An armed guard (far right) standing next to (L-R) Souvanna Phouma, Neutralist Premier of the Laotian Coalition Government, his pro-communist, half-brother, Souphanouvong, and General Singkapo, commander-in chief of the Pathet Lao Army, 1963. Here are facts about the so-called secret war in Laos. If you don’t make a deal with them, give them aid, the communists will do it, and then they’ll join with the communists.” The CIA set up medical facilities with doctors, started schools and offered protection from rivals. [10] For the purposes of the 1995 census, the government of Laos recognized 149 ethnic groups within 47 main ethnicities. The estimated population for Asia in 2016 is 4.4 billion. The current population of the Lao People's Democratic Republic is 7,345,485 as of Tuesday, March 2, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. This page was last edited on 25 January 2021, at 14:45 (UTC). A ground war in Laos with U.S. forces was not on the table. The CIA’s Operation Momentum armed and trained the Hmong to take on the Pathet Lao in the growing proxy war. Jessica Pearce Rotondi is the author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers. The Pathet Lao was a communist group founded at Viet Minh headquarters in 1950 during the French war. The U.S. bombing of Laos (1964-1973) was part of a covert attempt by the CIA to wrest power from the communist Pathet Lao, a group allied with North Vietnam and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War. With a population of just over seven million people, landlocked Laos has reported only 45 cases of the coronavirus and no fatalities. The highways then headed south to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His followers praised him for his bravery in fighting alongside his men. The demographic makeup of the population is uncertain as the government divides the people into three groups according to the altitude at which they live, rather than according to ethnic origin. Lolo ethnicity. By 1975, one-tenth of the population of Laos, or 200,000 civilians and members of the military, were dead. The United States watched closely as the Pathet Lao gained popularity in newly-independent Laos. The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated. Le Laos est le quatrième pays le moins peuplé d'Asie du Sud-Est. Bangkok. The United States eventually dropped the equivalent of a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years, according to Al Jazeera. ; Laos 2020 population is estimated at 7,275,560 people at mid year according to UN data. Charismatic and prone to pacing while he talked, Vang Pao had experience fighting both the French and the Japanese. All Rights Reserved. Going there was a guarantee of being hit or being shot down.”. Structure of the population (March 2005; census):[4]. total population: 62.39 years (2011 est.) ), Life expectancy at birth: But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female [10], The term ethnic minorities is used by some to classify the non-Lao ethnic groups, while the term indigenous peoples is not used by the Lao PDR. Seven hundred and fifty thousand, a full quarter of the population, had become refugees—including General Vang Pao himself. France’s grasp on Laos first slipped in 1945, when the Japanese occupied Laos in the closing days of World War II. The ensuing Geneva Accords split Vietnam into North and South Vietnam and stipulated that the French relinquish their claims in Southeast Asia. Twice as many were wounded. Long before the Cold War, Laos had a history of interference from its neighbors. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. A little over half of the population of Laos can use Lao and an estimated 3.3 million people can speak Lao in the world. Europeans entered the fray in 1893, when France declared Laos part of French Indochina. It also has the highest growth rate today, and its population almost quadrupled during the 20th century. Due to decreasing fertility rates this proportion decreased to 34.5% in 2010. Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. In 2016, President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. It was highly defended with all sorts of anti-aircraft guns. A man walks past a 30+ year-old bomb crater in the middle of a village in Laos. The lowland Lao (Lao Loum) account for 68%, upland Lao (Lao Theung) for 22%, and the highland Lao (Lao Soung, including the Hmong and the Yao) for 9%. Asia comprises a full 30% of the world's land area with 60% of the world's current population. The country's population density is 23.4/km2. It is bordered by Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) to the west, China to the north, Vietnam to the east, and Cambodia to the south. Most of the Lao dialects possess six tones. The predominant religion is Theravada Buddhism. The highest point of Laos is Phou Bia whose summit peaks at 9,242 ft. (2,817 m). Their mission: To disrupt communist supply routes across the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Vietnam. Dave Burns, a member of the U.S. Air Force’s 16 Special Operations Squadron, flew missions over Laos out of Ubon, Thailand. They had been at odds with the lowland Lao majority for centuries, and the CIA exploited this history of conflict to their benefit. male: 60.50 years (2011 est.) What we know as Laos today was built from an assemblage of different ethnic groups with distinct languages and cultures. 2003, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision, https://laosis.lsb.gov.la/tblInfo/TblInfoList.do, Lao People's Democratic Republic Special, 2011-12 - Lao Social Indicator Survey (MICS/DHS) Final Report (English), "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations", Indigenous Peoples Development Planning Document, "Results of Population and Housing Census 2015", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Laos&oldid=1009048180, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 February 2021, at 12:47. noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) To the French, having Laos as a protectorate was a means to control the Mekong River, a valuable trade route through Southeast Asia. Some Chinese minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many Laotian Chinese were forced to leave during 1975-80 when Laos followed the anti-Chinese policy of Vietnam. Since 1964, more than 50,000 Lao have been killed or injured by U.S. bombs, 98 percent of them civilians. Twice as many were wounded. Structure of the population (01.03.2015) (Census) : Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[7], Total fertility rate and other related statistics by province, as of 2011-2012:[8], Specialists are largely in agreement as to the ethnolinguistic classification of the ethnic groups of Laos. When atomic bombs fell on Japan, Laos declared its independence under the short-lived Lao Issara (“Free Laos”) government of Prince Phetsarath in 1945. The secret war in Laos, or the Laos Civil War to many who lived through it, set a precedent for a more militarized CIA with the power to engage in covert conflicts around the world. The Hmong made up an ethnic group that had originated in China and lived in the remote mountains of Laos, often in extreme poverty, and had a history of evading authority. ; Laos population is equivalent to 0.09% of the total world population. Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (also known as COPE) is a learning center where visitors can inform themselves about the UXO problem in Laos. Asia is the largest and most populous of earth's continents and its located in both the northern and eastern hemispheres. Publicly, President Kennedy announced his support for neutralizing Laos—though what neutralization looked like on paper was far different from what it was in practice. Phouma’s hold on power was tenuous at best. Lao (official), French, English, Vietnamese, and various ethnic languages, Literacy: For 2021, Laos is ranked 118 of 139 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review.It holds a PwrIndx* rating of 3.3003 (0.0000 considered 'perfect'). In 1971, Sepon was the target of the failed Operation Lam Son, when the U.S. and South Vietnam attempted to block access to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Air America was also transporting more illicit goods. In the central and southern mountains, Mon–Khmer tribes known as Lao Theung or upland Lao, predominate. Midslope and highland Lao speak tribal languages. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Laos expanded 4.70 percent in 2019 from the previous year. International organisations last year praised Laos’ early response and countrywide networks for containing the coronavirus after … A wall made from bomb casings in Na Kam Peng, also called Bomb Village, in Laos. Laos achieved full independence in 1954 following the victory of communist Việt Minh leader Ho Chi Minh over the French at the bloody Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. *Each nation is assessed on individual and collective values processed through an in-house formula to generate a 'PwrIndx' score. World Vision started working in the country in 1968 through relief assistance provided to people displaced by the Indo-China War. In Laos, the legacy of U.S. bombs continues to wreak havoc. ), Nationality: Its proximity to Mao Zedong’s China made it critical to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Domino Theory of keeping communism at bay. International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos. Because of its location on the East Coast, many of the early settlers would have set up home in Connecticut - something that is clear from the early population figures.. Twice as many were wounded. Ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and politically and culturally dominant group, make up the bulk of the Lao Loum and around 60% of the total population. Under his rule, government troops and the Pathet Lao began to clash in the Northeast along the border of Vietnam. Vientiane Prefecture, which includes Vientiane, the capital and largest city of the country, had about 569,000 residents in 1999. Laos is located in southeastern Asia. Buddhism and spirit worship coexist easily. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Laos averaged 6.87 percent from 1989 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 9.90 percent in 1989 and a record low of 4 percent in 1991. total population: 73% The script's arrival in Laos is attributed to the Theravada Buddhists who were on a mission of popularizing Buddhism. Looking back, in the year of 1960, Nigeria had a population of 45.1 million people. (Credit: Peter Langer/Design Pics/Getty Images). From 1353-1371, Fa Ngum went on to conquer most of today’s Laos and parts of what is now Vietnam and Northeast Thailand, bringing Theravada Buddhism and Khmer culture from the kingdom of Angkor (in today’s Cambodia) with him. Laos is a landlocked country bordered by China and Myanmar to the North, Vietnam to the East, Cambodia to the South and Thailand and the Mekong River to the West. Its geography, topography, and climate are built-in liabilities.” Bombing Laos was seen as a safer means of cutting off communist supply lines into Vietnam before they could be used against American troops. With a median age of 19.3, Laos has the youngest population of Asia. French, once common in government and commerce, has declined in use, while knowledge of English — the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — has increased in recent years. The French regained power the following year. female: 64.36 years (2011 est. The bombing focused on disrupting communist supply chains on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Sepon (also spelled Xépôn), a village near a former French air base now controlled by North Vietnam. Laos is a mountainous country with a rich history that stretches back 10,000 years.

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