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.
Japan's elderly are running ahead. With 1,197 people aged over 90 for every 100,000 citizens, Japan has by far the world's highest concentration of old people. England and Wales beat Norway to 5th place, since residents have a 0.8 in a 100 chance of making it past 90.