officially LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, Lao SATHALANALAT PAXATHIPATAI PAXAXÔN LAO, French RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE POPULAIRE LAO, landlocked country located on the Indochinese Peninsula. It is bounded on the north by China, on the northeast and east by Vietnam, on the south by Cambodia, on the west by Thailand, and on the northwest by Myanmar (Burma). Laos extends about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) from northwest to southeast and has a total area of approximately 91,400 square miles (236,800 square kilometers). The capital is Vientiane (Lao: Viangchan).