Laos - Country history and economic development

1353-73. Reign of Fa Ngum, king of Lan Xang (the land of a million elephants), marks the beginning of recorded Lao history.

1633-90. The height of the Lan Xang kingdom occurs.

18TH CENTURY. Lan Xang breaks into 3 independent kingdoms.

19TH CENTURY. Lao kingdoms fall under the Siamese orbit, and many Lao people are repopulated to Siam as slave labor.

1890. French colonial rule in Laos begins.

1953. On 22 October, Laos achieves its independence from France.

1975. Declaration of the Lao People's Democratic Republic occurs on 2 December.

1981. First 5 Year Plan begins.

1986. New Economic Mechanism approved at Fourth Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Congress paves the way for major economic reforms.

1994. Completion of Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River connects Laos and Thailand.

1997. Lao PDR becomes the eighth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

1998-99. Asian economic crisis contagion spreads to the Lao PDR, leading to free fall of the Lao kip and triple digit inflation.

2000. The Lao-Nippon Bridge across the Mekong River is completed.

2000-01. Macroeconomic stability is restored.