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 dog wearing face mask is seen on a street as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China on March 2, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Snow and ice adorn trees in Ovacık district, Turkey on February 20, 2020. The country has been experiencing heavy snowfall this month. (Photo by Sidar Can Eren/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Migrant children play with leaves during Christmas Eve at a shelter, as they travel with their parents as part of a caravan with humanitarian visas to transit throughout the country, in Monterrey, Mexico on December 24, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

Soldiers pose for a photo during the flower exhibition marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea April 16, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Migrants wait to cross the Slovenia-Austria border in Sentilj, Slovenia, October 27, 2015. The first five border guards – all German – of 400 promised to Slovenia by fellow EU countries are expected to arrive on Wednesday to help channel a huge flow of migrants through the tiny Alpine state, its government said. Interior Ministry state secretary Bostjan Sefic also said 100-120 customs police would join Slovenian soldiers, regular police and private security firms in dealing with an influx that has strapped the country's limited resources. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

Nepali members of the LGBT community take part in a Gay Pride parade in Kathmandu on August 8, 2017. Scores of gays, lesbians, transvestites and transsexuals from across the country took part in the rally to spread their campaign for sexual rights in the country. In 2013 Nepal introduced citizenships with a third gender option and began issuing passports reflecting the same in 2015. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Students run past a burning barricade set up by protesters demanding the release of kidnapped people, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, November 25, 2021. The country is experiencing a rise in gang-related kidnappings, many demanding ransom, with the U.S. State Department issuing a warning in Aug. about the risk of kidnapping in Caribbean country. (Photo by Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo)