The Hmong are an ethnic group from the highlands of Laos. When a communist movement called the Pathet Lao began to gain power in Laos during the Vietnam War, the Central Intelligence Agency recruited the Hmong to fight the communists and attack North Vietnamese supply lines. The resulting conflict far outlasted the Vietnam War.
High suicide rate. Approximately 30,000 Japanese people commit suicide each year. Japan has the highest life expectancy rate in the world in part because of universal health insurance, compulsory primary education and a general healthy lifestyle, according to a new study.
San Marino caught up with Japan to share the top spot for the first time in the previous yearâs report, while Switzerland joined them for the first time. Japanese womenâs average life expectancy was 86, maintaining first place, but Japanese menâs average life expectancy fell to 79 from 80 in last yearâs report. Qatari men had the longest life expectancy, at 83, while Japanese men were overtaken by those in countries such as Sweden and Singapore in this yearâs report.