Laos

Laos overview

Laos is in South-Eastern Asia, Asia. Its capital is Vientiane. The World Bank counts about 7.9 million people for 2025 on 236,800 km² of surface area.

In the Travle map, Laos has 5 neighbours: Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.

Population, density and language

The World Bank counts 7,873,046 people in Laos for 2025, which is 102nd of 170 by population. Spread over 236,800 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 33 people per km², 119th of 169 by density.

Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.

CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.

How big is Laos, really?

With 236,800 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Laos is 83rd of 169 by surface area and covers 0.17% of the combined area of those entries.

In that ordering, Romania (238,397 km²) is just larger; Guyana (214,970 km²) just smaller.

Laos at a glance

Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.

Laos within South-Eastern Asia

Natural Earth places Laos in South-Eastern Asia (UN subregion). Of the 10 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Laos is 8th by population and 7th by surface area, with 1.1% of the combined population of those entries.

Entries in South-Eastern Asia from Travle's country list, by World Bank population

Country	Population (2025)	Area km² (2024)
Indonesia	285,721,236	1,916,907
Philippines	116,786,962	300,000
Vietnam	101,598,527	331,338
Thailand	71,619,863	513,115
Myanmar	54,850,648	676,578
Malaysia	35,977,838	330,534
Cambodia	17,847,982	181,035
Laos	7,873,046	236,800
Timor-Leste	1,418,517	14,870
Brunei Darussalam	466,330	5,770

Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.

Location, borders and position

Laos is in South-Eastern Asia, Asia. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Vientiane, is at about 18.0° N and 102.6° E.

On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Laos 5 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 5.

Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.

Where Laos is on the map

Countries bordering Laos

Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 5 land neighbours.

Land neighbours of Laos: geographic boundary data compared with the Travle game map

Country	Direction	Land boundary in Natural Earth	Border in Travle
Cambodia	south	Yes	Yes
China	north	Yes	Yes
Myanmar	west	Yes	Yes
Thailand	south-west	Yes	Yes
Vietnam	south-east	Yes	Yes

Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.

Money and language in Laos

Currency

• Lao Kip: code LAK, numeric 418. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.

Official languages

• Lao: official only here, according to CLDR.

CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.

Currency, domain and dialling code

Laos codes and abbreviations

Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.

Fun facts about Laos

• The longest Travle trip from Laos takes 14 steps, to Lesotho.
• UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Laos; the earliest inscription dates from 1995.

Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.

How far can you travel from Laos in Travle?

Starting from Laos and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.

In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 14 steps and end in Lesotho. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).

Nearby routes from Laos

Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.

• Cambodia: 1 step (Laos → Cambodia)
• China: 1 step (Laos → China)
• Myanmar: 1 step (Laos → Myanmar)
• Thailand: 1 step (Laos → Thailand)
• Vietnam: 1 step (Laos → Vietnam)
• Afghanistan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Afghanistan)
• Bangladesh: 2 steps (Laos → Myanmar → Bangladesh)
• Bhutan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Bhutan)
• India: 2 steps (Laos → China → India)
• Kazakhstan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Kazakhstan)
• Kyrgyzstan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Kyrgyzstan)
• Malaysia: 2 steps (Laos → Thailand → Malaysia)
• Mongolia: 2 steps (Laos → China → Mongolia)
• Nepal: 2 steps (Laos → China → Nepal)
• North Korea: 2 steps (Laos → China → North Korea)
• Pakistan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Pakistan)
• Russia: 2 steps (Laos → China → Russia)
• Tajikistan: 2 steps (Laos → China → Tajikistan)
• Azerbaijan: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Azerbaijan)
• Belarus: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Belarus)
• Brunei Darussalam: 3 steps (Laos → Thailand → Malaysia → Brunei Darussalam)
• Estonia: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Estonia)
• Finland: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Finland)
• Georgia: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Georgia)
• Indonesia: 3 steps (Laos → Thailand → Malaysia → Indonesia)
• Iran: 3 steps (Laos → China → Afghanistan → Iran)
• Latvia: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Latvia)
• Lithuania: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Lithuania)
• Norway: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Norway)
• Poland: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Poland)
• South Korea: 3 steps (Laos → China → North Korea → South Korea)
• Turkmenistan: 3 steps (Laos → China → Afghanistan → Turkmenistan)
• Ukraine: 3 steps (Laos → China → Russia → Ukraine)
• Uzbekistan: 3 steps (Laos → China → Afghanistan → Uzbekistan)

World Heritage in Laos

UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Laos: 3 cultural and 1 natural. The first, inscribed in 1995, was Town of Luang Prabang.

• Town of Luang Prabang (cultural, inscribed 1995)
• Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape (cultural, inscribed 2001)
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park (natural, inscribed 2003, shared with other countries)
• Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars (cultural, inscribed 2019)

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.

Laos — frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Laos?

Vientiane.

Which countries border Laos?

On land, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.

What currency and language does Laos use?

The currency is the Lao Kip (LAK). Unicode CLDR gives Lao official status.

How far can you travel from Laos in Travle?

Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 14 steps: Lesotho.

How many people live in Laos?

The World Bank counts 7,873,046 people for 2025.

How big is Laos?

236,800 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.

What is the dialling code and internet domain of Laos?

The international dialling code is +856 and the country-code domain is .la.

What time zone does Laos use?

UTC+07:00 all year (2026).

Keep exploring

• Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
• Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
• Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.