Introduction
Lao PDR is a Landlocked and Least Developed Country bordering China, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Almost 6.5 million people live in its 17 provinces. Most people – about 67 percent – still live in rural areas. However, urbanization is occurring at a rate of 4.9 percent each year. The country is largely mountainous, with the most fertile land found along the Mekong plains. The river flows from north to south, forming the border with Thailand for more than 60 percent of its length.
History
The Lao People's Democratic Republic was established in December 1975, succeeding the Kingdom of Laos. This followed decades of civil war between the Royal Lao Government and the communist Pathet Lao, as well as involvement in the Second Indochina conflict. With the defeat of the royalists, the monarchy was abolished and the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) instituted a one-party State. The Constitution of Lao PDR was adopted in 1991.
Politically the country has considerably opened up in recent years, ratifying six out of the nine core human rights treaties, creating a more conducive legal environment for civil society, and actively pursuing regional and global integration. Lao PDR joined the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997 and is undertaking steps to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Challenges
The main development challenge is ensuring that the benefits from high economic growth, averaging more than 7 percent for the past five years, are evenly distributed and translated into inclusive and sustainable human development. Widening gaps between rich and poor, women and men, ethnic groups, and residents of different regions of the country need to be addressed if Lao PDR is to achieve all the MDGs by 2015.
Lao PDR's economic boom is driven primarily by foreign direct investment in natural resource extraction and hydropower. Ensuring that this is conducted in an environmentally sustainable way and that the revenues generated benefit everyone is critical for the development of the country.
In a unique challenge to Lao PDR, the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the Second Indochina War continues to destroy lives and limits agricultural production and expansion. More than 2 million tonnes of bombs were dropped on all provinces between 1964 and 1973, with 30 percent of those failing to detonate. The correlation between UXO contamination and the prevalence of poverty is clear, with 42 of the 46 poorest districts affected.
Successes
According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2010, the country is one of the 10 “top movers” in the world in terms of progress on human development during the past 20 years. Impressive progress has been achieved in poverty reduction, with the proportion of poor people falling from 46 percent in 1992 to 27.6 percent in 2010. The 2011 Human Development Index ranked Lao PDR 138 out of 187 countries.
UNDP's role in facilitating the development of the Government's 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2011-2015) has resulted in a focus on high economic growth that benefits all people and does not harm the environment. In addition, achieving the MDGs is incorporated as a key goal of the plan.
UXO Lao, the national clearance operator, supported by UNDP, have made over 30,000 hectares of land safe from unexploded ordnance (UXO) since starting programmes in 1996. This is equivalent to 250 square kilometers of the country. During this period, more than 1 million items of UXO have been destroyed.
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Lao PDR
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