19 March 2024 | 04:36 pm GMT +7
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    Why invest in ASEAN?

    • Lao PDR

      Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), commonly known as Laos, is a Land of Ample Opportunities and Successes.

      Lao prides itself with abundant natural resources. It is home to tons of coal, hardwood lumber, gypsum, tin, gold, and gemstones. It shares 1,865-kilometers of the great Mekong River stretch. It is blessed with rugged mountains, and has huge forests and woodland, which covers 47% of Lao’s land area. Lao’s topography offers investors great opportunities particularly in hydropower, mining, logging, and agriculture.

      Its unspoiled natural resources make Lao PDR an interesting tourist destination. In the recent years, Lao has been registering over 2 million tourist arrivals. Popular tourist sites are Lao’s breathtaking wats and ruins, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Luang Prabang, and the charming capital Vientiane.

      The government’s opening of Lao to private enterprises and foreign investors have steadily led to development and drove Lao’s more than 7% growth from 2008 to 2012. It became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and was admitted to the WTO in 2012. 

      For more information, please see Lao’s Ministry of Planning and Investment.  

      Lao PDR
      Capital: Vietiane
      Demography
      Land Area:
      Population:
      Urban population rate:
      Age clustering:
      Children below 5 yrs old
      Youth 15-29 yrs old
      Elderly over 65 years old
      Active workforce 20-44 yrs old
      Life expectancy:
      Net enrollment in primary education:
      Adult literacy rate:
      236,800 sqkm
      6.4 million
      33.2 percent
       
      14.6 percent
      29.8 percent
      3.7 percent
      35.0 percent
      67.1 years
      94.0 percent
      72.7 percent
      Economy
      (as of 2011)
      GDP:
      GDP per capita:
      Inflation:
      FDI:
      Total trade:
      Tourist arrival:
      Currency:
      US$ 8.2 million
      US$ 1,279
      7.7 percent
      US$ 301,000
      US$ 3.96 million
      2.72 million
      Lao kip
      Infrastructure
      (as of 2011)
      International airports:
      Major sea ports:
      Road length:
      Paved network:
      Percentage of paved roads:
      Vehicles per 1000 persons:
      Internet subscriber per 1000 persons:
      Cellphone per 1000 persons:
      2 international airports
      none
      41,030 square kilometers
      5,703 square kilometers
      14 percent
      171
      90
      872
      Other Information
      Languages:

       
      Religion:
      Race:
       
      Lao is the official language; French is spoke, and English emerging s business language.
      Buddhism is the dominant religion.
      Lao Loum (lowland), Lao Theung (midland), Lao Sung (highland).

      Note: Some figures may vary with figures in the AMS’ website due to different covered periods or record years. Quantitative data were culled from the ASEAN Secretariat Statistics Leaflet Year 2012. 
       

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