Laos

Laos: Travel tips, articles, photos, gallery, cities database, population, pics, flags, statistics, free maps online

Back to Countries, Click to read the whole article: Laos

Introduction - Laos:
Location - Laos:
People - Laos:
Government - Laos:
Economy - Laos:
Communications - Laos:
Transportation - Laos:
Military - Laos:
Military branches	Lao Peoples Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force

Military service age and obligation	15 years of age for compulsory military service; minimum 18-month conscript service obligation (2006)

Manpower available for military service	males age 15-49: 1,500,625 females age 15-49: 1,521,116 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 15-49: 954,816 females age 15-49: 1,006,082 (2005 est.)

Military note	Laos is one of the worlds least developed countries; the Lao Peoples Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)

Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 73,167 females age 15-49: 71,432 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures percent of gdp	0.5% (2006)

Disputes international	Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that Chinas construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels