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.