This Socio-Economic Atlas presents selected indicators of the human condition of the peoples of the Lao PDR. It contains a comprehensive set of maps showing a wide range of socio-economic aspects of the population of the Lao PDR. For the first time, census data have been mapped with a high degree of spatial disaggregation. The majority of the maps presented are at the village level.

This Atlas is intended to reach as wide an audience as is possible. It provides interested general readers, students and researchers, policy- and decision-makers with information on the socio-economic characteristics of the Lao population and their spatial distribution. We have also tried to improve access to the existing information and hence to improve general knowledge of the socio-economic situation through making this atlas generally available by distributing it as widely as possible through governmental and administrative channels, but also to educational institutions, and to interested individuals through public libraries and the internet. We hope that this Atlas will serve as a basis for stimulating discussions on the current socio-economic characteristics of the country and on any future developments. In this way we hope to have made an important contribution to linking knowledge and decision-making and hence leading to the sustainable and equitable development of the Lao PDR.