Population 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,233,659; female 1,219,872)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 2.47% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 53.88 years
female: 55.87 years (2002 est.)
male: 51.95 years

Total fertility rate 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 0.05% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 1,400 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths 130 (1999 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% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%)

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

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57%
male: 70%
female: 44% (1999 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Laos on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Laos People 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Laos People 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.