The People

About two-thirds of the inhabitants are Lao, a Mongoloid people closely related to the Thai. They live in the lowlands area. Most of the remainder of the people are members of widely scattered hill tribes, and most are ethnically close to the lowland Lao. Major non-Lao groups include the Khmu (related to the Khmers of Cambodia) and the Meo (a Sino-Tibetan people).

The greatest concentrations of people are in the Mekong valley and adjoining lowlands; the most sparsely populated areas are the northern mountains. The largest city is Vientiane, the capital, with 377,409 inhabitants. Other major cities are Savannakhét (96,652), Louangphrabang (68,399), and Pakxé (47,323).

Lao is the official language of Laos. It is a monosyllabic, tonal language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family and closely resembles Thai. The hill tribes speak various languages. Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion of Laos. It plays an important role in the daily lives of its adherents, which include most lowland Laotians. Many of the lowland Laotians also hold animist beliefs. Members of the upland tribes are almost all animists.

Education begins at age six and is compulsory for eight years. Primary school lasts five years; secondary school, six. Higher education is available at Sisavangvong University in Vientiane. The literacy rate is about 85 per cent.