This book examines various trends in small-scale societies in Laos by linking population changes to livelihood changes. The primary research issues addressed in the book are as follows:

･ How are population dynamics and livelihood changes in small-scale societies interrelated?

･ What are the current demographic trends in rural areas of Laos?

･ How are the livelihoods of small-scale societies maintained?

･ How is the rapid population growth common in developing countries managed?

In order to investigate these issues in developing countries where statistical data are not well developed, it was necessary to collect information through detailed and distinctive fieldwork. To this end, a multidisciplinary study of geography, cultural anthropology, human ecology, and demography was conducted in three villages in Laos and compiled as an ethnography. The study included a four-generation retrospective survey of population and land use change, a two-year survey of food dairies, and a survey of the spatiotemporal distribution of residents' daily activities using GIS and GPS, etc.

The book provides valuable information on the slowdown in the rate of population growth in contemporary rural Laos. Livelihoods, family planning and population migration are explored in the context of the decreasing population growth rate. In addition, the book describes the process of adopting modern contraceptive methods in rural areas, as well as the Lao government's reproductive policies and villagers' responses to them. It also illustrates rural–rural and rural–urban population migration influenced by the government's resettlement policies, which encourages people to move from the highlands to the lowlands.