Development Background
Laos, one of the world's few remaining communist states, is one of East Asia's poorest countries
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15351898). This is a small landlocked country
located in the centre of South-East Asia, which occupies an area of 236,800 square kilometres of
the northwest portion of the Indochinese peninsula. Laos is surrounded by China, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. It is a mountainous country, especially in the north, where
peaks rise above 2,800 meters and dense forests cover the northern and eastern areas. It is
considered to be large country compared with number of the population (6.3 millions), the density
is only 27 people per kilometer square (2010).