Year Founded: 1975
The only land-locked state in Southeast Asia and a former French colony, Laos is one of the few remaining communist countries in the world. It received a medium Human Development Index ranking but is the fourth most underdeveloped country in Southeast Asia.
During the Vietnam War, to quash the communist forces in Laos, the US dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos’ land and one-third of them were not detonated. The aftermath is large stretches of minefields in Laos which not only puts lives in danger but also hinders land development. As the economy develops at a slow pace, there are only 11 listed companies on the Laos Securities Exchange. With a daily trading volume of only 170,000 US dollars, Laos can be said to have the smallest stock market in the world.