The population is small and widely dispersed with a total 5,600,000 populations (2006)and the average of density is 23.6 persons per square kilometers, one of lowest in Asia. It is comprises many ethnic groups broadly divided into three distinct categories: The Lao-Tai who occupy the lowland plains and constitute 67% of the population; the Mon-Khmer who occupy the mountainous slops and constitute about 23% of the population and the Hmong-Yao and Tibeto-Burman) who occupy the high mountains and constitute 10% of the population. Eighty three percent (80%) of it lives in the rural areas