Countries

Laos

A landlocked sliver of mountains and the Mekong river valley, home to about eight million people and dozens of languages: the United States dropped more bombs on Laos between 1964 and 1973 than fell on Germany and Japan combined during the whole of the Second World War, making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.

The Mekong River at Luang Prabang, Laos, with forested hills along the far bank

The Mekong at Luang Prabang

Photo: Ricardo Hurtubia, CC BY 2.0

The two red bands are the blood spent winning independence; the wide blue band is the Mekong, the river the country runs along. The white disc is the full moon over the river, and a symbol of unity under one government.

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