Laos

ລາວ

Waiting for the first voice

تا مرد سخن نگفته باشد / عیب و هنرش نهفته باشد
Until a man has spoken, his faults and his gifts both stay hidden.

Saadi, Gulistan, chapter I, story 3

No advice from here yet. Know an elder from this country? Your recording could be the first: 2–3 minutes on a phone.

Laos's Plain of Jars is named after more than 2,100 Iron Age stone jars used in funerary rites. (source)

of people are 65 or older: 4.8%
people aged 65 or older: 378.5K
will be 65 or older in 2050: 9.9%
is how long people live after 60, on average: 17.5 years
of people 65+ live alone: 4.1%; women 5.7%, men 2.2%
of people 65+ live in collective quarters: care homes, hospitals, hostels and the like: 1.1%

Sources: World Bank, 2025; World Bank projection for 2050; WHO, 2023; UN, 2023; UN, 2015 census

91 languages, 43 of them endangered

Show all 91

Languages and their status: Glottolog v5.3, CC BY 4.0. Names: Wikidata.

List and years: ich.unesco.org

Record their advice in their native language: 2–3 minutes on a phone.