Polity · 1956 CE – 1975 CE
Kingdom of Laos
ພຣະຣາຊອານາຈັກລາວ
- Peak recorded area
- 229,137 km²
- 1956 CE
- Rulers on record
- 4
- from 1904 CE
- Data series
- 115
- 1956 CE–1975 CE
Overview
The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country was governed as a constitutional monarchy beginning with its independence on 22 October 1953.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1975 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 30 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population29 obs · 1820 CE–1975 CE | 3.2Mpersons1975 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Life Expectancy26 obs · 1950 CE–1975 CE | 48.39years1975 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Urban Population23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 194Kpersons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Age Dependency Ratio16 obs · 1960 CE–1975 CE | 85.06%1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Birth Rate Per 100016 obs · 1960 CE–1975 CE | 44.43per_10001975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Death Rate Per 100016 obs · 1960 CE–1975 CE | 18.9per_10001975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Economy
6 of 26 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita26 obs · 1950 CE–1975 CE | 9992011 int'l $1975 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 6.5million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 36million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | -29.5million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 42.5million USD (current)1975 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Cereal Production Tonnes15 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 938Kmetric tons1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 14 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 0.0005CINC (share of world capability)1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 1.7Mcoal-ton equivalents1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 0tons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel23 obs · 1953 CE–1975 CE | 46Kpersons1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 37tiv_million1975 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| Military Expenditure22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 19Mcurrent USD1975 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 11 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Land %15 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 6.79%1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land %15 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 3.25%1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Arable Land per capita Ha15 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 0.2495hectares per person1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Renewable Freshwater per capita M315 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 63.4Kcubic meters1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Total Land Area Sq Km15 obs · 1961 CE–1975 CE | 230.8Ksq km1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Co2 Emissions Mt6 obs · 1970 CE–1975 CE | 0.377Mt CO2e1975 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 12 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 0.129index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 0.063index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 0.068index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 0.228index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity222 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | -7index (-10 to 10)1975 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 22 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index76 obs · 1900 CE–1975 CE | 0.089index (0-1)1975 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles26 obs · 1948 CE–1974 CE | 2.5count1974 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars26 obs · 1948 CE–1974 CE | 14Kcount1974 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production25 obs · 1951 CE–1975 CE | 350MGWh1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 11Kcirculation1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Radios22 obs · 1954 CE–1975 CE | 150count1975 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
4 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Sisavang VongKing of Laos1904 CE – 1959 CE
- Souvanna PhoumaPrime Minister of Laos1951 CE – 1954 CE
- Sisavang VatthanaKing of Laos1959 CE – 1975 CE
- Boun OumPrime Minister of Laos1960 CE – 1962 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Lao
- Currency
- Lao kip (LAK)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Kingdom of Laos is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.