The development of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has been a success by many measures over the past two decades. For a sparsely populated and land-locked country that has had to overcome the devastating effects of years of war and civil strife, it has managed to sustain high and relatively stable growth for over two decades. Living standards have improved to the point where Lao PDR has become a lower middle income economy and could graduate from least developed country status by 2020. Foreign direct investment has played a key role in supporting this growth, although domestic investment is also booming. The country is becoming more integrated both regionally and globally, joining ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.