Located on the banks of the Mekong River near the Laotian border with Thailand, Vientiane serves as the capital city of Laos. Formally the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Laos is a landlocked country occupying the center of mainland Southeast Asia’s Indonesia peninsula.

Also called Viengchan, popular nicknames for Vientiane include “City of the Moon” and “Sandalwood City”.

Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank the Laotian capital on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. Numbeo does evaluate Vientiane on several individual factors. For instance, Vientiane’s scores poorly on health care (lowest rating compared to fully rated countries), property price to income ratio (highest 5%) and pollution (worst 10%).

The most significant national monument for Laos is found in Vientiane: an iconic Buddist temple called That Luang.

Another prominent landmark in the Laotian capital city is the memorial monument Patuxai. It was built to commemorate those who battled for independence from France, and showcases architecture incorporating Laotian designs while offering a panoramic vista of Vientiane.

The East Asian country of Laos was recognized by the Guinness World Records for having age 15 as the youngest minimum age for compulsory military service on Earth.

From an international trade perspective, Laos exported an estimated US$5.8 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include electrical energy (22.8% of Laos’ global total), copper ores and concentrates (10.1%), refined copper (7.5%), waters including added sugar or other sweeteners (3.9%), live bovine animals (also 3.9%), natural rubber and similar natural gums (3.7%), bananas including plantains (3.3%), gold (also 3.3%), sugar (2.1%), and chemical woodpulp (also 2.1%) according to the International Trade Centre.

Capital Facts for Vientiane, Laos: Quick Reference

 
Laotians celebrate Republic Day as a national holiday each December 2.

Vientiane’s population count was an estimated 682,542 residents at August 1, 2020, living over a land area measuring 50 square miles (130 square kilometers).

At the country level, Laos covers a land area of 89,112 square miles (230,800 square kilometers) which serves as home to 7.3 million Laotians as of August 2020.

Population density is more concentrated within Vientiane’s city limits averaging 13,651 residents per square mile (5,250 per square kilometer).

Zooming out to the nation’s overall land boundaries, population density for Laos is 82 Laotians per square mile (32 per square kilometer).