Factbook
History of Laos — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Laos, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1907The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand.
1949Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France); 22 October 1953 (Franco-Lao Treaty recognizes full independence).
1975Following more than 15 years of civil war, the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government in 1975, ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a one party--the Lao People's Revolutionary Party--communist state.
1997Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.
2015Languages: Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages Religions: Buddhist 64.7%, Christian 1.7%, none 31.4%, other/not stated 2.1% (2015 est.) Urban population: 38.2% of total population (2023).
2019Military spending: 0.2% of GDP (2019 est.).
2021China, for example, provided 70% of the funding for a $5.9 billion, 400-km railway line between the Chinese border and the capital Vientiane, which opened for operations in 2021.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 23.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 76.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 34.463 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: mining (copper, tin, gold, gypsum); timber, electric power, agricultural processing, rubber, construction, garments, cement, tourism Agriculture: cassava, root vegetables, rice, sugarcane, vegetables, bananas, maize, rubber, coffee, watermelons (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 721,000 VIENTIANE (capital) (2023) lower middle-income, industrial Southeast Asian economy; high inflation due to 2022 currency depreciation brought on by persistently high debt; new Laos-China railway and dry port; rising inequities; ongoing labor shortages Inflation: 23.1% (2024 est.).
