Lao PDR is located in the Indochina pennisula and it is surrounded by five countries. Its territory is composed of mountains, plateaus, dense forests, streams and rivers. • Lao PDR has had a one-part government since 1975. • The Constitution was passed in 1991. • There has been a trasition to a market economy since 1986. • The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in June 1991.
	Land Area 236, 800 km2 Population 5,2 million Rural population 80% Percentage of children under 18 years 47% Maternal mortality rate (per 1000,000 live births) 650 Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 96 Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 116 Life expectancy 53 No. of ethnic groups 47 literacy rate 60% Female literacy rate (aged 15+) 47.5 % Net enrolment rate in primary school 76% 1st graders reaching 5th grade 53% GDP / person in 2000 (USD) 350 Source: Pasasonh Newspaper, National Statistics Office, UNDP and UNICEF