Lao People's Democratic Republic ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxôn Lao
Motto:
Anthem:
Location of  Laos  (red) in ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Vientiane 17°58′N 102°36′E / 17.967°N 102.600°E / 17.967; 102.600
Official languages	Lao
English
Demonym(s)	Laotian, Lao
Government	Unitary Marxist-Leninist communist and single-party state
• General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President	Thongloun Sisoulith
• Prime Minister	Sonexay Siphandone
• Party Standing Secretary and Vice President	Bounthong Chitmany
• Vice President	Pany Yathotou
• President of the National Assembly	Saysomphone Phomvihane
Independence  From France
• Autonomy	19 July 1949
• Declared	9 Nov 1953
Area
• Total	Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (83rd)
• Water (%)	2
Population
• 2009 estimate	6,800,000 (104th)
• 1995 census	4,574,848
• Density	Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (177th)
GDP (PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$15.693 billion (130th)
• Per capita	$2,435 (48th)
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$6.341 billion (137th)
• Per capita	$984 (147th)
Gini (2008)	34.6 medium
HDI (2010)	0.497 low · 122nd
Currency	Kip (LAK)
Time zone	UTC+7
Driving side	right
Calling code	856
ISO 3166 code	LA
Internet TLD	.la

Lao People's Democratic Republic or Laos (ປະເທດລາວ), is a country in Southeast Asia. The capital of Laos is Vientiane.

Laos is landlocked (it does not have a coast on a sea or ocean), and it is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar (used to be known in English as "Burma") and by China to the northwest, by Vietnam to the east, by Cambodia to the south and by Thailand to the west. The Mekong river forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand. Boats from Laos cannot get to the ocean using the Mekong because of rapids and waterfalls in the south of the country.

Since the country has many mountains, has no access to seaports, and has few large river valleys good for large-scale farming, Laos has had few people compared to other Southeast Asian countries. Laos is the least densely populated country in Southeast Asia, with only 32 people per square kilometer.