Military branches:
Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force
Military manpower - military age and obligation:
15 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - minimum 18 months (2004)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,500,625 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 954,816 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 73,167 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$10.7 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.5% (2004)
Military - note:
Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)
More about Laos:
Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Transnational Issues
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