Irrigated land:
1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation -
750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
floods, droughts
Environment - current issues: unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly
forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western
boundary with Thailand
People Laos
Population:
6,068,117 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 19 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.44% (2004 est.)