Laotian diaspora

Laotian diaspora
Total population
c. 800,000
Regions with significant populations
Thailand288,000[1]
United States245,220 (2022)[2]
France140,000[3]
Canada24,580[4]
Cambodia21,600[5]
Myanmar17,000[6]
Vietnam14,900[5]
Australia12,372[7]
South Korea10,520[8]
Germany4,000[9]
Japan3,859 (2023)
 Singapore2,401[10]
Argentina1,800[11]
New Zealand1,374[12]
 Belgium1,067[13]
United Kingdom1,000[14]
 Switzerland1,000[14]
Sweden1,000[14]
New Caledonia1,000[14]
Guyana1,000[14]
 Taiwan60[15]
 Russia18[16]
 Philippines13[17]

The Laotian diaspora consists of roughly 800,000 people who are descendants of emigrants from Laos.

History

The Laotian diaspora can be categorized into three categories based on time.

  • The first consists of Laotians who have lived outside Laos before the French colonization of the country. Members of this group live almost exclusively in Thailand, either part of the forced migrations by the Siamese or by modern border definitions, as a result of the Siamese annexation of the Isan region following the decline of the kingdom of Lan Xang in the 1700s.[18]
  • The second category consists of Laotians who studied or worked in France and Vietnam during Laos' colonial period and then settled those countries.[19]
  • The third category consists of the largest number of overseas Laotians, who fled the country following the communist Pathet Lao takeover of Laos as a result of the Vietnam War. This group of the Laotian diaspora primarily live in North America, France and Australia, with a smaller number in Thailand.[20]

There has been a newer group of Laotians living overseas. Members of this group primarily consist of newer emigrants or expatriates who live in industrialized nations for years before returning home.[21]

Asia

Thailand

Main articles: Isan people and Isan

A Laotian population has been present in the Isan region of Thailand since the 13th century, when the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang annexed the region following the Khmer Empire's downfall. The kingdom of Siam later took over the region in the 1700s after Lan Xang's decline and the present boundaries between Laos and Thailand were established in 1907, with the region officially coming under Thai control.[22] While this earlier group of Laotians speak a language mutually intelligible with Lao, they are identified as a separate ethnic group due to Thaification policies as a result of the Thai government seeing strong Lao influence in the country as a threat to its power.[18]

A number of Laotians fled to Thailand following the communist takeover of Laos, with the country being a stopover for refugees before their immigration to North America, France or Australia.[20] Laotian refugees who settled in Thailand live predominately in the Isan region and in cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai.[23]

Cambodia

There are an estimated 21,600 people of ethnic Lao descent living in Cambodia, primarily in the northern part of the country.[5] Laotians first arrived in Cambodia during the country's French colonial period as laborers for plantations and fishermen.[24] A larger number of Laotians later arrived following the collapse of Democratic Kampuchea to escape communism in Laos. There has been a number of Laotian expatriates in Cambodia due to increased economic cooperation between the two countries.[25]

Vietnam

There are an estimated 14,900 ethnic Lao living in Vietnam, mostly in the northern provinces of Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Son La.[5] Laotian presence in the country was accelerated during the French colonization of Indochina, when Laotian students were able to move to Hanoi and receive higher education at the city's French institutions. Some Laotian government workers were trained by the colonial government in Hanoi.[19] A number of Laotian laborers were recruited to work in the rice fields and mines of northern Vietnam, and some remained in the country following its independence from France.[24]

North America

United States

Main article: Laotian American

In the 2010 United States census, there were about 200,000 Americans of Laotian descent living the United States, making them the largest overseas Laotian community outside Asia. They tend to live in metropolitan areas on the West Coast and Upper Midwest. Areas with highest Laotian population include the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and the Seattle metropolitan area. There is a community which settled in the Lane Xang Village of south Louisiana in Iberia Parish.[26]

Laotian Americans are not associated with the model minority image that includes other Asian ethnic groups such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese Americans.[27]

Canada

Main article: Laotian Canadians

As of the 2016 Canada Census, there were about 24,000 Canadians of Laotian descent in the country, with nearly three-quarters of the population living in Ontario and Quebec.[4]

Refugees consist of more than half of all Laotian Canadians.[28] Theravada Buddhist temples serve as the group's community and cultural centers.[29]

France

Main article: Laotians in France

The number of ethnic Laotians living in France was estimated to be around 140,000 in 2014.[30] The majority of Laotians in France live in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France region, with smaller communities in Marseille, Lille and Strasbourg.[31]

France was the first Western country to where Laotian migrants settled due to the colonization of Laos by France in the 20th century. A number of students and workers of the elite class were the first Lao migrants to France. Laotian immigration to France became more visible after the influx of refugees after the Vietnam War in 1975. Unlike their counterpart communities in North America, Germany, and Australia, French Laotians are regarded as a model minority in French politics and society.[32]

Oceania

Australia

Main article: Laotian Australians

There are about 12,000 people of Laotian descent in Australia.[33]

Laotian Australians primarily live in the metropolitan areas of Sydney and Melbourne. Some ethnic Lao organizations and Theravada Buddhist temples help to serve the community.[33]

New Zealand

Most of the population of Laotian New Zealanders consists of refugees who arrived in the country in the 1970s and 1980s. Community associations based in Theravada Buddhist temples help to serve the social needs of the population.[12]

Argentina

About 1,800 people of Laotian descent live in Argentina.[11] Laotian refugees first arrived in the country after the Vietnam War in 1975 and settled in Buenos Aires as part of a United Nations sponsored program. The community changed with the founding of a Theravada Buddhist temple (while some have converted to Roman Catholicism) and Laotian-owned businesses.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Lao of Thailand". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  2. ^ "ASIAN ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH ONE OR MORE OTHER RACES, AND WITH ONE OR MORE ASIAN CATEGORIES FOR SELECTED GROUPS". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. ^ Présentation du Laos
  4. ^ a b "Census Profile, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Ethnologue
  6. ^ Hattaway, Paul, ed. (2004). "Lao". Peoples of the Buddhist World. William Carey Library. p. 149.
  7. ^ "The Laos-born Community: Historical Background (2011 census)". Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  8. ^ "경기도 과천시 관문로 위치. 전자민원, 준법 운동, 여성포럼, 인권 광장".
  9. ^ "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". 10 February 2014.
  10. ^ "International Migrant Stock 2020". United Nations. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Lao | Joshua Project".
  12. ^ a b Laotians in New Zealand
  13. ^ "Wachtregister asiel 2012-2021". npdata.be. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". 10 February 2014.
  15. ^ "2023.12 Foreign Residents by Nationality". 內政部移民署. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Статистические сведения по миграционной ситуации". Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Household Population by Country of Citizenship: Philippines, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing. Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Hattaway, Paul, ed. (2004). "Isan". Peoples of the Buddhist World. William Carey Library. p. 103.
  19. ^ a b Carine Hahn, Le Laos, Karthala, 1999, page 77
  20. ^ a b Robinson, William Courtland (1998). Terms of refuge: the Indochinese exodus & the international response. Zed Books. ISBN 1-85649-610-4.
  21. ^ "Lao Government Urged Expatriates to Come Back Home". 2009-12-21.
  22. ^ Laos under the French, U.S. Library of congress
  23. ^ Sadan, Mandy (2004), "Lao", Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, ABC-CLIO
  24. ^ a b Samuel Gance. Anton ou la trajectoire d'un père. L'Harmattan, 2013
  25. ^ ASEAN Joint statement Archived 2015-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "American FactFinder - Results".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  27. ^ "Socioeconomic Statistics & Demographics : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues". Asian-Nation. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
    Julianne Hing (22 June 2012). "Asian Americans to Pew Study: We're Not Your 'Model Minority'". The Hartford Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  28. ^ Van Esterik 1999, pp. 902–903
  29. ^ Richardson 1990, p. 17
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2024-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ Bouvier & Smith 2006, p. 47
  32. ^ La jeunesse lao de France, quelle identité? (in French)
  33. ^ a b Phoumirath, T. (2001), "Laotians", in Jupp, James (ed.), The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, Cambridge University Press, pp. 550–552, ISBN 978-0-521-80789-0
  34. ^ Laotians in Argentina

Works cited

  • Bouvier, Hélène; Smith, Glenn (2006). "Ethnographie des réfugiés Lao en milieu urbain" (PDF). In Smith, Glenn; Bouvier, Hélène (eds.). Ethnicité: Regards entrecroisés. Pdii-lipi & Lasema. pp. 47–108. ISBN 978-979-3688-57-2.
  • Richardson, Elizabeth (1990). "The Cambodians and Laotians". Cross-cultural caring: a handbook for health professionals. University of British Columbia Press. pp. 11–35. ISBN 978-0-7748-0343-4.
  • Van Esterik, Penny (1999). "Laotians". In Magocsi, Paul R. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. University of Toronto Press. pp. 902–909. ISBN 0-8020-2938-8.
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