Laos

Colonized: 19 July 1949 (from France)
Per Capita Income: $1,900 (2007 est.)
Literacy Rate:
total population: 68.7%
male: 77%
female: 60.9% (2001 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate:
total: 79.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 69.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life Span:
total population: 56.29 years
male: 54.19 years
female: 58.47 years (2008 est.)
HIV population: 1,700 (2003 est.)
3 connections: Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures.
Language: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Ethnic Groups: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%