| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Map references | Southeast Asia |
| Area | total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly larger than Utah |
| Land boundaries | total: 5,274 km border countries (5): Burma 238 km, Cambodia 555 km, China 475 km, Thailand 1845 km, Vietnam 2161 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Phu Bia 2,817 m lowest point: Mekong River 70 m mean elevation: 710 m |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Land use | agricultural land: 10.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 6.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.7% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 3.7% (2018 est.) forest: 67.9% (2018 est.) other: 21.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,100 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 333.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | floods, droughts |
| Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
