A chimp motions for Santa to deliver his gift during Lion Country Safari's annual Christmas with the Chimps on Thursday, December 20, 2012. (Photo by Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)

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.

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)

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)

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)

Shanghai Ballet dancers wearing masks practise in a dance studio in Shanghai, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, February 20, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

English reality television personality and country music singer Megan Elizabeth McKenna is seen at Soho House on May 24, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)