>Laos
People
About half the country's people are ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and politically and culturally dominant group. The Lao are descended from the Tai people who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium A.D. Mountain tribes of Sino-Tibetan (Hmong, Yao, Akha, and Lahu) and Tai ethno-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos. Collectively, they are known as Lao Sung or highland Lao. In the central and southern mountains, Mon-Khmer tribes, known as Lao Theung or midland Lao, predominate. Some Vietnamese and Chinese minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many left in two waves, after independence in the late 1940s and again after 1975.
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| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | |
| Population, total (millions) | 4.26 | 5.32 | 6.25 | 7.28 |
| Population growth (annual %) | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Surface area (sq. km) (thousands) | 236.8 | 236.8 | 236.8 | 236.8 |
| Population density (people per sq. km of land area) | 18.5 | 23.1 | 27.1 | 31.5 |
| Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) | .. | .. | .. | 18.3 |
| Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) | 31.1 | 32.1 | 14.5 | 10 |
| Income share held by lowest 20% | 8.2 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 7 |
| Life expectancy at birth, total (years) | 53 | 59 | 64 | 68 |
| Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 6.2 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) | 107 | 82 | 69 | 64 |
| Contraceptive prevalence, any method (% of married women ages 15-49) | 19 | 32 | 50 | 56 |
| Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) | .. | 17 | 37 | 64 |
| Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | 154 | 107 | 68 | 44 |
| Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) | 39.8 | 35.6 | 26.6 | 21.1 |
| Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) | 32 | 42 | 64 | 79 |
| Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) | 43 | 67 | 86 | 89 |
| School enrollment, primary (% gross) | 98.1 | 107 | 123.4 | 98.8 |
| School enrollment, secondary (% gross) | 23 | 34 | 47 | 63 |
| School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Environment | ||||
| Forest area (sq. km) (thousands) | 178.4 | 174.3 | 169.4 | 166 |
| Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) | .. | .. | .. | 18.7 |
| Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) | .. | .. | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Urban population growth (annual %) | 5.1 | 6.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
| Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) | 0.12 | 0.17 | 0.46 | 2.61 |
| Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | 8.6 | 8 | 13.1 | 15.8 |
| Net migration (thousands) | -61 | -148 | -112 | -74 |
| Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions) | 11 | 1 | 42 | 232 |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) | 6 | 34 | 279 | 968 |
| Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions) | 104.8 | 233.6 | 389.2 | 528.9 |