Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is a country in Mainland Southeast Asia, and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Having a population of more than 7 million, Laos's capital and most populous city is Vientiane. Laos has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the town of Luang Prabang, the temple complex of Vat Phou, and the Plain of Jars. The 2021 completion of the Boten–Vientiane railway, Laotian section of the Laos–China Railway (LCR), connects Vientiane to Kunming.
The kingdom of Lan Xang existed in what later is Laos from the 13th to 18th centuries and was a hub for overland trade through its location. In 1707, it split into three kingdoms: Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champasak. In 1893, these kingdoms were unified under French protection as part of French Indochina. Laos was under Japanese administration during World War II, gaining independence in 1945 before returning to French administration until achieving autonomy in 1949. It regained full independence in 1953 as the Kingdom of Laos, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A civil war from 1959 to 1975 saw the communist Pathet Lao, supported by China, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, oppose the Royal Lao Armed Forces, backed by the United States. It ended with the establishment of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) in 1975 that aligned with the Soviet Union until the latter's dissolution in 1991. Laos participates in the Greater Mekong Subregion economic cooperation programme, and is a member of ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, East Asia Summit, La Francophonie, and the World Trade Organization