Laos has a tropical climate. The rainy season runs between July and October, when high humidity can also be expected.

The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. However only slightly more than half of the population can speak Lao, the remainder speaking various ethnic minority languages, particularly in rural areas. The written language is based on Khmer writing script. Midland and highland Lao speak an assortment of tribal languages.

The Lao Kip, denoted by the ISO code LAK, is the official currency of Laos. One kip is subdivided into 100 At. A currency reform took place in 1979, with the exchange rate of 100 old kip being replaced by one new kip.

http://www.laos.visahq.com

Population (2009 est.): 6.8 million.
Annual population growth rate (2009 est.): 2.3%.

Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, situated in the Mekong river. Vientiane became the capital in 1563 due to fears of a Burmese invasion.

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