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.

Rusting old petrol pumps outside a long-closed rural village petrol station are seen on a minor road near Trowbridge, Britain, October 21, 2016. From art deco apartments in Sussex to a trendy burger bar in London, some of England's former petrol stations are enjoying a new lease of life following creative makeovers. The overhaul opportunities have been created as more than 20,000 stations closed in the United Kingdom over the past 40 years, according to the U.K.'s Petroleum Industry Association (PIC). (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

Turkana boys play with rifles in a village inside the Turkana region of the Ilemi Triangle, northwest Kenya December 21, 2014. The Ilemi Triangle is a disputed region in East Africa, claimed by South Sudan and Kenya, bordering also Ethiopia. The dispute arose from unclear wording of a 1914 treaty which tried to allow free movement of the Turkana people, nomadic herders who had traditionally grazed the area. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Chinese hostesses, who serve the delegates of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and National People's Congress, have souvenir photos taken in front of the Great Hall of the People during sessions of the CPPCC and NPC held in Beijing, China Tuesday, March 4, 2014. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Jason Derulo (C) performs “Get Ugly” at the People's Choice Awards 2016 in Los Angeles, California January 6, 2016. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Show hosts Anna Faris (L) and Allison Janney dance on stage during the 2015 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California January 7, 2015. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Co-hosts Kat Dennings (L) and Beth Behrs onstage at The 40th Annual People's Choice Awards show at Nokia Theatre LA Live on January 8, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/WireImage)