Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

A model poses backstage at the Topshop Unique catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London, Britain February 19, 2017. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

Models prepare backstage before presenting creations of Belarussian designer Tatyana Efremova during the Belarus Fashion Week in Minsk, Belarus, 14 April 2018. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)

A public bus makes its way on a flooded road after heavy monsoon rains in Mumbai, India on August 4, 2019. India receives its monsoon rains from June to September. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)