HANOI, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Laos has annually recorded an average gross domestic product (GDP) of 6 percent since its application of the renovation policy in 1986, said Lao Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachit.

    The country's GDP per capita has increased to estimated 438 US dollars in 2005 from 76 dollars in 1975, local newspaper Vientiane Times on Friday quoted Bounnhang Vorachit as saying.

    Laos has made great progress in socioeconomic development, especially in the fields of agriculture, industry, education and health over the past 30 years. It has recently attached greater importance to infrastructure improvement and industry development, especially in the fields of electricity and mining, said Bounnhang Vorachit.

    The country, which used to import rice, is able to turn out enough the commodity for local consumption and even for export now. It is estimated to produce 2.3 million tons of rice in 2005, compared with 400,000 tons in 1976, according to the prime minister.

    Now, 70 percent of Laos' population is literate. The country currently has 35,429 students studying at many grade schools, and 38 colleges and universities, compared with 146 and four in 1975, respectively.

    The country, with a population of over 5.6 million, also houses over 1,140 health establishments, where 2,000 local doctors work. The average life expectancy of local people is about 61 years old, up from 40 years in 1975. Enditem