- Source: Postage stamps and postal history of Laos
- Postage stamps and postal history of Laos
- Postage stamps and postal history of Indochina
- Postage stamps and postal history of Vietnam
- Millennium stamp
- Postage stamps and postal history of Burma
- Postage stamps and postal history of Annam and Tongking
- Coffee stamp
- List of entities that have issued postage stamps (F–L)
- Tanganyika (1961–1964)
- Compendium of postage stamp issuers (L)
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Laos.
Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century. After a period as a French protectorate, Laos gained independence in 1953. A long civil war ended officially when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.
First stamps
The first stamps of Laos, as an "associated state" within the French Union, were issued on 13 November 1951. Before then stamps of French Indo-China were used.
Independence
Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy in 1953. On 2 December 1975, Pathet Lao government renamed the country as the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
See also
Postage stamps of the French Colonies
Postage stamps and postal history of Indochina
References
Further reading
Lao Stamp Catalogue 1951-2001.
Indo-China Revenue Stamp Catalog, The Society of Indo-China Philatelists, 2008.
External links
The Society of Indo-China Philatelists
Paboukham & Sons - Philately in Vientiane since 1998