236,800 sq km

Population

5.4m (mid-2001 IMF estimate)

Main towns

Population of the province in which a main town is situated (‘000; mid-1999):

Vientiane (capital) 319

Vientiane (municipality) 583

Savannakhet 748

Champasak 558

Luang Prabang 406

Climate

Tropical; rainy season, May-October; dry season, November-April

Weather in Vientiane (531 ft above sea level)

Hottest month, April, 23-38°C; coldest month, January, 14-28°C; wettest month, June, 302 mm average rainfall; driest month, December, 3 mm average rainfall

Language

Lao and others

Measures

Metric system; local measures include:

1 va = 5 sok = 10 khup=2 metres

1 rai = 4 ngane = 1,600 sq metres

1 kang = 10 hoi = 1.2 kg

Currency

Kip (K). Average exchange rates in 2002: K10,056:US$1; K15,516:£1. Exchange rates on May 16th 2003: K10,630:US$1; K17,252:£1

Time

Seven hours ahead of GMT