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Religion
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Religion of Laos is Theravada Buddhism, which is professed by most Lao and by a small number of other ethnic groups. Most of the rest of the people are animists, or spirit worshipers, especially in the more isolated upland areas. Many see no contradiction in being both, since Buddhism shows the way to enlightenment, while spirit worship helps a person to cope with daily and local problems.
Among the hill peoples, especially those who have migrated from southern China, are found groups that mix Confucian ideas with Buddhism and animism. One subgroup of the Mon-Khmer, the Lamet, practices ancestor worship, and the Hmong are both spirit and ancestor worshipers.
Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries were present in the country before 1975, but only a tiny proportion of the population is Christian. The Vietnamese, who live both in the cities and in the northeastern rural areas, practice a mixture of Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism.
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People
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| Population: |
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4,837,237 (July 1995 est.) |
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| Age structure: |
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0-14 years: |
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45% (female 1,084,615; male 1,111,928) |
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15-64 years: |
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51% (female 1,280,142; male 1,199,149) |
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65 years and over: |
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4% (female 86,390; male 75,013) (July 1995 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.84% (1995 est.) |
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| Birth rate: |
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42.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) |
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Death rate:
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14.28 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) |
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| Infant mortality rate: |
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99.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: |
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52.2 years |
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male: |
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50.66 years |
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female: |
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53.81 years (1995 est.) |
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| Total fertility rate: |
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5.98 children born/woman (1995 est.) |
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Nationality:
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Noun: |
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Lao(s) or Laotian(s) |
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Adjective: |
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Lao or Laotian |
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Ethnic divisions:
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Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
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Religions:
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Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
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Languages:
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Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
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Literacy:
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age 15 and over can read and write (1992) |
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total population: |
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50% |
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Male: |
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65% |
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Female: |
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35% |
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Labor force:
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1 million-1.5 million |
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by occupation: |
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agriculture 80% (1992 est.) |
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