The USLAOSNC is a direct descendent of the US-Laos NTR National Coalition (http://www.uslaosntr.org) which is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations who advocated to have Normal Trade Relations Status granted to Laos.  After NTR was granted in February 2005, many of the Coalition members felt it was important to form a new coalition of organizations and individuals to focus on other issues in US-Laos relations and to continue the mission of educating people in the US about Laos.   
The USLAOSNC brings together many members of the USLAONTR Coalition and others from the US and around the world who were interested in strengthening relations between the people of the US and the people of Laos. The Coalition brings together groups of people committed to sharing information about Laos as well as promoting social and economic development of the country.  ..more

Today, Lao PDR ranks 135th the least developed countries in the world by the UNDPs Human Development Index.  This means that Laos still needs help in many areas of social and economic Development.  Laos is located in Southeast Asia, bordered on the north by China, the east by Vietnam, the south by Thailand and the west by Burma. It has one of the lowest population densities in Asia of 23 persons per square kilometers and roughly 85% of the population lives in rural areas. Currently there is a population of about 5.7 million and a growth rate of 2.8% per year. The Lao population has more than 40 distinct ethnic groups though they are often classified into three main groups: the Lao Loum (lowland), 68%, the Lao Theung (up land), 22%, the Hmong and the Yao (high mountains), 9%.  Other ethnic groups, such as the Vietnamese and Chinese, account for about 1%. The major cities are the capital of Vientiane, Savannakhet, Pakse and Luang Prabang.  

Learn more about Laos