The Lao have about 9,600 inhabitants concentrated in   the Dien Bien and Phong Tho districts of Lai Chau province, Song Ma district in Son La province and Than Uyen district in Lao Cai province. The Lao are also called the Lao boc or Lao noi. The Lao language belongs to the Tay-Thai Group. The Lao practise ancestor worship and are influenced by Buddhism.

Most of the Lao grow rice in submerged fields using advanced techniques such as ploughing, harrowing and irrigating. Additional family occupations are fairly developed including brocade weaving, blacksmithing, pottery and the making of silver articles.

The Lao have adopted a sedentary lifestyle and some villages contain hundreds of houses. These are spacious and sturdy with decorations on the principal poles standing near the kitchen and other poles and beams. The roof is high and curved at the ends, shaped like tortoise's shell.

Lao women are well-known for their weaving skills. They wear black skirts knotted at the front, coming up to their chests. The hems are decorated with two bands of embroidered motifs in different colours, and a short vest close to the body is added, with a row of silver buttons which has become a popular style for women in the Song Ma region. Women in the Dien Bien region wear shirts similar to those of their Kho Mu neighbours. Unmarried Lao girls always have their hair tied long in a chignon askew on the right of their head. Women also wear a scarf called a pieu. When not wearing a scarf, they like to decorate their hair with silver pins. They wear a lot of bracelets and it is their habit to tattoo the backs of their hands with images of plants. Lao men usually have a Han script tattooed on their wrist and an animal on their thighs.

Traditional musical instruments of the Lao.

The Lao often have the family names of Lo, Luong or Vi and each lineage has certain rules. The children take the family name of the father. Some extended families are still seen in some remote areas, but small families are move popular and monogamy is the rule. According to the old custom, after marriage, the groom must live with his wife's family for several years before returning to his home with his wife or before the couple can have a private house built. In recent decades, the time period has been shortened.

When a person dies, the funeral ceremony and burial are carefully organised. Cremation occurs if the deceased is the chief of a muong or ban (village).

In Lao society, the mo lam (shamen) rewrite and narrate ancient tales and folksongs. Lao folklore is influenced by that of the Thai. The lam vong (Lao folk dances) are always performed at festivals and ceremonies.