Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic
Republic, is a landlocked communist state
in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma)
and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the
east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand
to the west. Laos traces its history to the
Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants,
which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth
century. After a period as a French protectorate,
it gained independence in 1949. A long civil
war ended when the communist Pathet Lao movement
came to power in 1975.
Private
enterprise has increased since the mid-1980s.
Laos has been ranked among the lowest countries
in terms of economic and political freedom.
Despite this, the economy of Laos grew at
7.2% in 2006,35th fastest in the world.
80% of the employed practice subsistence
agriculture. The country's ethnic make-up
is diverse, with around 70% belonging to
the largest ethnic group, the Lao.
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