Despite the Communist takeover in the mid-1970s, Laos remains a Buddhist country in everything but name. Patriotic holidays are still celebrated in this landlocked country, but only on Buddhist holidays do the Lao people let their hair down and celebrate.
The politics of Laos takes place in the framework of a single-party socialist republic.
The local currency is the KIP. Notes come in denominations of 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10.000 and 20.000 Kips.