Laos

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Laos

• By Linh Luong

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• Government Communist State
• Capital Vientiane
• Area 91,429 sq mi
• Population 6,368,481
• GPD 11,92 billions
• Communication
• Internet users 15,000 (2002)
• Telephones lines in used 25,000 mobile
  cellular4,915
• Television Broadcast Station 4
• Televisions 52,000
• Radios 730,000
• Internet Users 10,000

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General Outlook on the Country

• _Laos is one of the Countries least touched by
  technology in Southeastern Asia.
• _The country had very few primitive railroad, and
  little paved road.
• _The Mekong River is the main communication
  artery of the country, but it too had limitation.

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General continued

• _Majority of the population live off of farming
  or fishing from the Mekong river. These people
  make up the lower class.
• _A very small percentage of the population is
  made up of the rich elite from the time of
  imperialism and communist bureaucracy.
• _Communist party is the dominant political party
  in Laos.
• _Only 64 of the country are literate.

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Vientiane (Capital)
Houeixay (Small town, North Laos)
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History since 1900s

• _Before 1900s Laos was ruled by the neighboring
  kingdom of Siam
• _The Siam ruled over Laos was weakened by the
  1900s because of France Imperialism. France take
  over Laos and established the Indochina sector.
• _During WWII, France give up the rule over Laos
  to Japanese forces. Upon the retreat of the
  occupying force in 1945, Laos declared itself
  independent.
• _In 1946, France reestablished its rule over Laos.

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History Continued

• _In 1953, The Communist with the aid of the Viet
  Minh, regained the independent of the country.
• _The country soon fall into civil war between the
  Pathet Laos in the North and the Royal forces
  supported by the France.
• _This conflict would last until 1975 when the
  communist declared the country a republic under
  the leadership of Prince Souphanouvong.

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Economy

• _Being a land locked country made exporting and
  importing goods very difficult for the country.
• _Agriculture employ most of Laos work force.
• _50 of the GDP of Laos come from agriculture
  however, only 4.01 of the total land are arable.
  Rice is the major crop.
• _Fish from the Mekong river is another major
  source of food for the people in the country.

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Economy continued

• _Very little industrial complex.
• _Tourism is a major source of income in Laos
  since 2000.
• _The country main export is electricity, timber,
  textiles and garments, coffee and tin.
• _Since most of the manufactured item from
  industries have to be imported the country
  constantly facing trade deficits.

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People

• _The population of Laos today is close to 6.5
  millions.
• _68 of the population are Lao Loum, 22 are Lao
  Theung, and 9 are Hmong and Dao. The remaining
  one percent are Vietnamese and Chinese.
• _60 of the population are Buddhist, and 40 are
  animist and others.

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Communication

• _The lack of transportation, and communication
  system made it extremely difficult for the
  country to progress onward.
• _The seven TV stations in Laos are not enough to
  bring the broadcasting to poor people in rural
  regions, but even if the country manage to build
  more TV station, the people in these area may not
  be able to afford such commodities.

Oudomxay Provincial Radio station
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Communication

• _Only 9 of the country population had access to
  communication system (telephone and mobile
  network).
• _Finally, the country had 7AM stations and 14 FM
  stations, Most of these stations however are
  mainly built to support the urban sector of Laos,
  thus the rural and mountainous regions of the
  country does not receive the broadcasting from
  these station.

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What the Country Need to Do in Order to Progress.

• _An improvement in communication technology to
  connect the rural and the urban population is
  crucial for the advancement of the country.
• _Invest in building better communication system
  will connect the country better, thus enhance
  technology development and could help to provide
  more job for the people.

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Free Radio Berkeley is a solution

• A micropower FM broadcast station with a coverage
  radius of 12-15 miles can be put on the air for a
  cost ranging from 1000-2000.