According to 3rjewelry, Laos is a country located in Asia. French protectorate, independent since 1954, Laos has been a People’s Democratic Republic since 1 December 1975, when the National Congress of People’s Delegates, elected by local administrative bodies, abolished the monarchy formally, establishing a socialist-type regime, appointing the members of the Supreme People’s Council (later the Supreme People’s Assembly), the highest legislative body with the task of electing the head of state. The Constitution, approved on August 14, 1991, sanctioned a parliamentary form of government, even if the only party actually admitted is the Popular Revolutionary Party (PPR). The National Assembly, whose members are elected by universal suffrage for 5 years, holds the legislative power and appoints the President of the Republic, who has a five-year term. The president exercises executive power and in turn appoints the prime minister and the members of the Council of Ministers. The judicial system is based on the French legal system, flanked by local laws. The administration of justice has several degrees: the Supreme People’s Court and the regional or district courts. The enactments of the International Court of Justice are not considered binding. In addition, the death penalty is in force in the country. The country’s armed forces include the army, air force and a small navy contingent. The compulsory military service is carried out from 15 years of age; the duration of the leverage is at least 18 months. The free education system was sanctioned, together with compulsory schooling from the age of 6, by the Constitution that followed the proclamation of independence. The school provides a five-year primary cycle (in which compulsory schooling is fulfilled) followed by 6 years of secondary school, divided into 2 three-year cycles. The technical and professional schools are particularly popular, Vientiane (founded in 1958), which includes a dozen faculties and institutes mainly focused on science and language. Illiteracy affects a very high percentage of the population, 31.3%.
TERRITORY: MORPHOLOGY
Territorially, Laos corresponds, broadly speaking, to the western side of the Annamite Range, extending to the course of the Mekong, which in fact constitutes the border of the country for a long stretch. Although essentially mountainous, Laos does not have a very harsh morphology, given the origin of the Annamite relief which, more than from powerful corrugations, is derived from the uplift of fractured blocks (backlash of the Himalayan corrugation), among which there have often been large granite intrusions. Almost entirely mountainous is in particular northern Laos, or high Laos. The region is home to a series of elongated chains in the NW-SE direction with peaks even over 2000 m, separated by narrow valleys crossed by impetuous streams, and tabular reliefs such as the extensive and impervious Cammon plateau where the highest peak rises. of Laos, the Phou Bia (2819 m); further to the NW lies the Plain of Jars, Tonkin and the Mekong Valley. Southern Laos, or lower Laos, includes to the E a distinctly mountainous area close to the Vietnamese border (a vast stretch of the western slope of the Annamite Range) sloping down towards the Mekong valley; the central strip is occupied by a series of limestone plateaus, such as the plateau of Khammouane, which have a typical karst morphology, but between which the basaltic plateau of the Plateau des Bolovens opens, superficially affected by allitic alteration responsible for the formation of a very fertile reddish soil; finally there is the band of valleys along the Mekong, forming a series of more or less wide plains, which constitute the most vital part of the country. Laotian soils are on the whole quite ancient: Precambrian and lower Paleozoic rocks are widespread along the eastern edge; vast Permian and Triassic outcrops affect upper Laos, while Mesozoic Triassic and Jurassic lands prevail in lower Laos; on the sides of the Mekong there are Quaternary alluvial coverings, especially extended in the Vientiane plain.
TERRITORY: HYDROLOGY
Hydrographically, almost the whole country is linked to the Mekong, which winds through it for 1865 km, receiving the waters of many tributaries, mostly left, the most important of which is the Nam Ou; only in upper Laos some rivers such as Song Ma, Song Chu and Song Ca head towards the Gulf of Tonkin. The Mekong, in addition to being significantly affected by the rainfall trend, overflowing widely in the summer months, has rapids in several points, such as those of Khone on the border between Laos and Cambodia, which hinder navigation, possible only in the intermediate sections, of the order of 300-500 km.
