Population 5,260,842 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,205,210; female 1,174,323)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,318,061; female 1,393,386)
65 years and over: 3% (male 77,388; female 92,474) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 2.76% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 40.58 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 12.97 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 91.81 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 53.7 years
male: 52.13 years
female: 55.34 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 5.66 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian

Ethnic groups Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%

Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40%

Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 56.6%
male: 69.4%
female: 44.4% (1995 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Laos on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Laos People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Laos People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.