Countries

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Map

Lao People's Democratic Republic
This map is an approximation of actual country borders.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic was projected to have a population of 6.1 million in 2009, based on the 1995-2005 population growth rate of 2.1%. It has a sparse population density (26 per square kilometre) with large interprovincial variations, and an average household size of 5.9 persons. The topography breaks into lowland areas along the Mekong River that depend predominantly on paddy rice, and highland areas that depend on upland rice and the gathering of non-timber forest products for a livelihood. The population is young, but there are signs of changes in the demographic structure: the percentage of the population under 15 years of age decreased from 43.6% to 37.9% between 1995 and 2009. The nation is rural, with the beginnings of a rural-to-urban shift, as indicated by the increase in urban areas: the estimated percentage of the population living in rural areas decreased from 72.9% to 66.8% between 2005 and 2010.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic joined WHO on 17 May 1950, when it was one of the Associate States of the French Union. The Republic became independent when French Indochina was dissolved in 1954.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic was covered by the WHO Area Representative Office in Saigon, Viet Nam from 1956 to 1 January 1968, when the WHO Representative Office in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic was established. Before the establishment, the WHO Country Liaison Office was administered by the WHO Representative Office in Saigon.

The WHO Representative in the Lao People's Democratic Republic : Liu, Dr Yunguo

WHO Country Office

Office address:

125 Saphanthong Road, Unit 5 Ban Saphangthongtai, Sisattanak District Vientiane Capital Lao People's Democratic Republic

Postal address:

P.O. Box 343 Vientiane, Lao P.D.R.

Telephone number:

(856) 21 353-902
(856) 21 353-903
(856) 21 353-904

Fax number:

(856) 21 353-905

Office hours:

07.30 - 12.00 13.00 - 16.30 (Monday to Friday) 08.00 - 12.00 (Saturday) with skeleton staff

Email:

who.lao@wpro.who.int

Website:

http://www.wpro.who.int

Ministry of Health

Address:

Simuang Road, Vientiane Lao People's Democratic Republic

Telephone number:

856 (0)21 217607

Fax number:


856 (0)21 214003

Email:

pomdohp@laotel.com

Sources

Additional information

 

Statistics

Estimated Population ('000s) ( 2009 ) 6128
Percentage of Population 5-14 years old ( 2009 ) 23.7
Life expectancy at birth (years) ( 2009 ) 63.9
Under-five mortality rate (per 1000 livebirths) ( 2009 ) 80.4
Total health expenditure as % of GDP ( 2009 ) 4.1
General gov't expenditure on health as % of total general gov't expenditure ( 2009 ) 3.8
Human development index ( 2010 ) 0.497
Per capita GDP (US$) at current market prices ( 2009 ) 914
Population below national poverty line ( 2006 ) 33
Adult literacy rate (%) ( 2005 ) 73
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100 000 livebirths) ( 2005 ) 405
Proportion of population with sustainable access to improved water source ( 2008 ) 57
Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation ( 2008 ) 53