According to ehistorylib, in 2005, Laos had a population of around 5.9 million people and a GDP of $4.8 billion, making it one of the poorer countries in Southeast Asia. The economy was largely reliant on agriculture and foreign aid, with other industries such as mining, textiles and tourism also playing an important role. Unemployment rates were quite high at around 25%, while poverty levels remained quite high with an estimated 40% of the population living below the poverty line.
Foreign relations in 2005 were generally positive with Laos being a member of various international organizations such as the United Nations (UN). In addition, it maintained diplomatic ties with many countries in Europe, Asia and North America. It was also an important ally to both China and Vietnam and had close trade ties to other Southeast Asian countries.
Politically, Laos was a one-party communist state during this time period with executive power vested solely in the President who had absolute authority over foreign policy decisions and could veto any legislation passed by Parliament. Furthermore, there were three branches of government: Executive (President), Legislative (National Assembly) and Judicial (Supreme People’s Court). These branches worked together to ensure that laws were properly enforced throughout the country.
Yearbook 2005
Laos. After nearly ten years of studies and negotiations with the Laos Government, the World Bank decided in April to contribute US $ 270 million in loans and assistance to the disputed dam project Nam Theun 2 in Laos. The dam with the dam will be the largest in the country and is estimated to cost in total $ 1.2 billion. Electricity is to be exported to Thailand, thus providing Laos much needed revenue in foreign currency.
However, the dam building had many critics who pointed to negative environmental impacts and the social consequences for housing in the vicinity of the building. The World Wildlife Fund warned that the dam would destroy agriculture and fishing for 130,000 people and that several animal species would be affected, including the elephant population. In November, the power plant construction will begin.
According to countryaah, Vientiane is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Laos. Four Americans were arrested in June, suspected of unlawful intercourse with the hmong guerrilla. Three of them were expelled from the country, while one remained in police custody. The four were in the country to supervise the treatment of their relatives, who surrendered to the authorities.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym LA stands for the country of Laos and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
Members of the hmong ethnic minority were recruited by the CIA during the Vietnam War to fight on the US side. When the communists took control of Laos. 1975, many fled the hmong guerrilla country, but thousands have until today chosen to hide in the rainforest and from there to wage a low-intensity guerrilla war.
General information about Laos
“In the land of a million elephants,” in the old royal capital of small and poor Laos, Luang Prapang, the devotion of silent Buddhist temples, watts, pilgrims praying in the twilight touches. In the morning, the saffron-yellow processions of the monks move with dignity from the donor to another and the giver thanks, not the recipient. The black-walled gold-colored temple ensembles reflect sophisticated harmony.
The pilgrim can follow the Mekong to the upstream villages all the way to the caves of Pak Ou, where for centuries Buddha statues of various sizes have been brought as gifts. From Luang Prapang, the capital was moved to neighboring countries to flee southern Vientiane. The majority of the citizens of the poor socialist country, the Laos, make their living from agriculture: the Mekong estuary provides a rich rice harvest, opium poppy is grown on the Thai border and hardwood is obtained from the forests. The country has found a real money moss in the energy of the Mekong River. Laos alone has built several dams in the tributaries and many new ones are planned to the detriment of neighboring countries.
The majority of Laotian citizens make their living from agriculture. In addition to rice and corn, crops include tobacco, coffee, cotton and, especially in the Golden Triangle, opium poppy. The best grain harvests come from the Mekong Valley, where it rains heavily. The vegetation of the northern and eastern mountains is mainly a tropical monsoon forest with enough hardwood for export. The mines produce tin and gold.
Almost all of the citizens belong to the classes. Minorities, such as the Thais and the Hmong of the Meos, inhabit the north. The first actual Lao state was born in the 14th century and was named Lan Xang or “Million Elephant Land”. Luang Prabang first became the capital. After being attacked by the Burmese several times, it was decided to move Hovi south to Vientiane, which is still the capital today. Vientiane’s oldest architecture seeks its influence on Siamese construction. The most significant monument is the temple of Pha That Luang, the national symbol of Laos, erected in 1566. The wars have mistreated the buildings of Vientiane, and many of the temples have been rebuilt on the former grounds, such as Wat Mahathat and Wat Si Muang.
