Laos and ASEAN

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It consists of an irregularly round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsula-like region stretching to the southeast. The climate is mostly tropical savanna and influenced by the monsoon pattern. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane. The county is divided into 17 provinces and one prefecture. Provinces are further divided into districts and then villages. An "urban" village is essentially a town. The country's capital and largest city is Vientiane. With an area of 236,800 square kilometres it has a population of over 7 million.

Laos' economy relies heavily on trade and investment with neighbouring Thailand, Vietnam, and China. 80% of employment is provided by subsistence agriculture, which accounts for half of the GDP. Laos is rich in mineral resources and imports petroleum and gas. Metals are a significant industry in the country, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to exploit the abundant deposits of coal, gold, copper, tin, and bauxite. The mining industry of Laos has received notable attention with foreign direct investments. A substantial portion of Laos' economic development has come from this sector.

The GDP was USD 19 billion in 2021, while the GDP per capita amounted to USD 2,500.

The total value of Laos’s international trade amounted to USD 13 billion in 2021, with the exports amounting to USD 7 billion, and the total value of imports to USD 6 billion. The main import and export destinations were China, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic union of ten members, has 667 million people and a territory of 4.5 million Km2; is currently the third largest economy in Asia-Pacific and the fifth largest in the World. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has a combined GDP of USD 3.6 trillion according to estimates for 2022.