---
title: "Laos — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Laos: capital Vientiane, area 236,800 km², population 7,873,046 (2025), currency Lao kip. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/laos/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Laos

**Laos: Capital Vientiane**

236,800 km² · 7,873,046 people (2025) · Lao kip

The only landlocked country in South-East Asia. The Mekong runs about 1,900 km through or along it, and at Si Phan Don the river spreads to 14 km wide, the widest point anywhere on its course. Khone Phapheng there is the largest waterfall in South-East Asia by volume.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Vientiane
- **Area:** 236,800 km² — 91,429 sq mi
- **Population:** 7,873,046 (2025)
- **Density:** 33.2 people per km²
- **Currency:** Lao kip (LAK, ₭)
- **Official language:** Lao
- **Time zone:** UTC+07:00
- **Calling code:** +856
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** LA · LAO
- **Continent:** Asia

## How it compares

- **By area:** 83 of 200
- **By population:** 103 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ghana | 238,533 | 35,064,272 |
| Romania | 238,391 | 19,020,271 |
| Laos ← | 236,800 | 7,873,046 |
| Guyana | 214,969 | 835,986 |
| Belarus | 207,600 | 9,085,991 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Laos?

Vientiane

### What currency does Laos use?

The Lao kip (LAK).

### How big is Laos?

236,800 km², or 91,429 square miles — 83 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Laos drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [Ghana](https://atoneplace.net/country/ghana/)
- [Romania](https://atoneplace.net/country/romania/)
- [Guyana](https://atoneplace.net/country/guyana/)
- [Belarus](https://atoneplace.net/country/belarus/)
- [India](https://atoneplace.net/country/india/)
- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/indonesia/)
- [Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/country/pakistan/)
- [Bangladesh](https://atoneplace.net/country/bangladesh/)
- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [Philippines](https://atoneplace.net/country/philippines/)
- [Vietnam](https://atoneplace.net/country/vietnam/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]