Laos

The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is a landlocked country bordering China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma. It is one of the few remaining socialist countries and, following the communist takeover in 1975, opened up to the world only at the beginning of the 1990s. The UN considers the Lao PDR to be one of the world's Least Developed Countries. In spite of its small population of about 6 million, Laos has the most ethnically diverse population in mainland Southeast Asia. More than 240 different ethno-linguistic groups have been identified.
 
The concept of "indigenous peoples" is not used in Laos. The government uses the term "multi-ethnic people" and speaks of Laos as a "multi-ethnic society". It is the so-called "ethnic" people, however, that are usually referred to as Laos' indigenous peoples. The government also prefers not to use the term "ethnic minority", as some believe that the term makes people in less populous ethnic groups feel inferior because they are only represented by a relatively small number of people.
 
In this text, the terms "indigenous peoples" and "ethnic minorities" have been used interchangeably.