Imagine a small Southeast Asian country, one that never declared war, yet was bombed more heavily than Germany and Japan combined during World War II.
This is the tragic reality of Laos between 1964 and 1973. At the time, the country had a population of just around two million, but was hit with over two million tons of bombs dropped by the United States. Yes, that’s more bombs than people.
It may sound like a dark work of fiction, but this is a hidden chapter of the Vietnam War, one that the world often overlooks. Laos holds the grim distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in history per capita.
On average, a combat aircraft dropped a full payload of bombs on Laotian territory every eight minutes, every day, for nine years.
The Secret War That Was Never Declared
What happened in Laos during that decade was not part of any officially declared war. Instead, it was a covert military operation carried out by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The objective was to disrupt the supply lines of North Vietnamese communist forces, which passed through Laotian territory. Without the knowledge or consent of its own citizens, Laos became a testing ground for massive bombings, including the use of cluster munitions, weapons notorious for their devastating long-term impact.
Although the operation was eventually exposed during U.S. congressional hearings in 1971 and reported by international media, the full scale of destruction remains largely underrecognized by the global public.
Bombs That Never Exploded
Perhaps even more terrifying than the number of bombs dropped is the fact that about one-third of them failed to detonate. This means that millions of unexploded bombs and other ordnance, from grenades and bullets to landmines, still litter the Laotian countryside to this day.
These hidden threats have claimed over 20,000 lives since the war officially ended in 1975. Tragically, nearly half of the victims have been children.
In some rural areas, people live near mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Daily activities such as farming, digging, or even walking through the fields can be deadly.
Aid Came, Then Stopped
After years of pressure from advocacy groups like Legacies of War, the U.S. government began funding UXO clearance operations in Laos starting in 1993, with a significant increase in funding after 2010. In a landmark moment, President Barack Obama announced a $90 million aid package during his historic visit to Laos in 2016.
However, that sense of hope was disrupted when President Donald Trump froze foreign aid in January of a certain year, which included funds allocated for UXO projects in Laos. As a result, approximately 4,000 trained bomb disposal technicians, funded by the U.S., were forced to halt operations. Even the emergency UXO hotline was shut down due to the absence of authorized personnel to respond to reports.
During this suspension, casualties continued to occur. The decision was widely condemned as a humanitarian disaster, especially given that Laos relies heavily on international support to address the lingering threat of deadly wartime ordnance.
A Future Still Entangled with the Past
Today, an estimated 80 million unexploded bombs remain buried across Laos. Bomb disposal teams are only able to clear about 60,000 UXO per year, a meaningful achievement, but still a tiny fraction of the total problem. At this pace, Laos estimates it will not be fully cleared of UXO until the year 2125.
Ironically, although this history represents a dark chapter of one of the 20th century’s major wars, Laos is rarely mentioned in global discussions about conflict and its long-term consequences. The war may have ended more than 50 years ago, yet its echoes remain, not as gunfire, but as ongoing human suffering.
Laos is not just a relic of the past, it is a stark reminder that the consequences of war extend far beyond peace treaties. While much of the world moves on, the land of Laos still “breathes” over active mines, and children continue to grow up surrounded by invisible dangers that threaten their every step.
