LA
East Asia & Pacific · Lower-middle income
Laos: key statistics
Laos has 7.9m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $2,325. Below: 79 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Vientiane
- Region
- East Asia & Pacific
- Income group
- Lower-middle income
- Currency
- Lao kip LAK
- Languages
- Lao
- ISO codes
- LALAO
Population7.9m2025 · rank 102 of 217GDP$18.3bn2025 · rank 138 of 211GDP per capita$2,3252025 · rank 173 of 211Life expectancy69.2 yrs2024 · rank 159 of 217Internet users65.6%2024 · rank 132 of 188Fertility2.402024 · rank 81 of 217CO₂ per person3.35 t2024 · rank 89 of 203Inflation7.7%2025 · rank 32 of 180
topic profiles
Laos, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Laos
GDP per capita
LaosEast Asia & PacificWorld
Life expectancy
LaosEast Asia & PacificWorld
Internet users
LaosEast Asia & PacificWorld
all indicators
Laos by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within East Asia & Pacific.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 7.9m | 2025 | 102/217 | 14/37 | +16% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 1.32% | 2025 | 77/217 | 6/37 | −0.1 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 40.3% | 2025 | 172/217 | 28/37 | +7.2 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 2.40 | 2024 | 81/217 | 15/37 | −14% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 4.8% | 2025 | 152/217 | 32/37 | +0.7 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 29.8% | 2025 | 72/217 | 13/37 | −3.4 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 33.7 | 2024 | 167/216 | 30/37 | +16% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 20.9 | 2024 | 66/217 | 11/37 | −16% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 236,800 km² | 2024 | 83/216 | 13/37 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $18.3bn | 2025 | 138/211 | 18/36 | +27% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $2,325 | 2025 | 173/211 | 33/36 | +9.6% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $10,383 | 2025 | 138/199 | 19/31 | +71% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $2,150 | 2025 | 163/201 | 30/33 | +9.7% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 4.5% | 2025 | 62/210 | 14/36 | −2.7 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 3.2% | 2025 | 77/210 | 21/36 | −2.6 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 16.6% | 2025 | 45/198 | 10/29 | −1.0 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 29.2% | 2025 | 58/201 | 12/30 | +1.5 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 43.6% | 2025 | 174/201 | 25/30 | −0.6 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 29.0% | 2016 | — | — | −1.1 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 17.6% | 2016 | — | — | −4.9 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 7.7% | 2025 | 32/180 | 2/27 | +6.5 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 12.3% | 2010 | — | — | +6.5 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 22.6% | 2010 | — | — | −9.4 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 20,444.14 | 2025 | 4/210 | 2/36 | +152% | — | |
| Tax revenue | 12.1% | 2022 | 108/142 | 22/25 | −1.5 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 10.3% | 2022 | 137/142 | 25/25 | −0.7 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 115.4% | 2024 | 7/119 | 2/16 | +41.1 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 0.19% | 2013 | — | — | −0.3 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 33.2% | 2016 | — | — | −4.9 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 41.9% | 2016 | — | — | −1.9 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 75.1% | 2016 | — | — | −6.9 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | 11.1% | 2025 | 20/185 | 8/29 | +26.8 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | 7.7% | 2025 | 26/197 | 7/32 | +0.2 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 2.6% | 2025 | 83/178 | 12/26 | +1.3 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 886,400 | 2020 | 104/196 | 17/35 | −65% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 1.2% | 2025 | 180/187 | 27/29 | −0.8 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 2.4% | 2025 | 180/187 | 28/29 | −1.5 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 66.1% | 2025 | 53/187 | 13/29 | +6.1 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 61.6% | 2025 | 42/187 | 10/29 | +5.4 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $515m | 2023 | 66/145 | 7/24 | +22% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 3.5% | 2023 | 56/139 | 14/23 | −0.2 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $67.2 | 2023 | 71/145 | 15/24 | +4.9% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 7.1% | 2024 | 50/151 | 3/17 | −14.6 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 22.5% | 2024 | 46/151 | 3/17 | −20.7 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 15.0% | 2024 | 109/145 | 7/15 | — | — | |
| Gini index | 34.7 | 2024 | 75/151 | 6/17 | −3.6% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 10.0% | 2024 | 58/167 | 4/23 | +2.6 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 22.0% | 2025 | 112/190 | 10/30 | −3.0 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 75.6% | 2023 | 106/141 | 21/23 | +2.9 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 66.7% | 2023 | 112/147 | 21/24 | +3.5 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 93.1% | 2025 | 154/191 | 25/30 | −21.2 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 50.5% | 2025 | 156/176 | 26/26 | −11.8 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 14.9% | 2023 | 142/172 | 26/27 | −4.0 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 85.2% | 2025 | 124/168 | 23/26 | −15.7 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 22.3 | 2018 | 67/173 | 11/27 | −27% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 1.2% | 2023 | 178/184 | 28/29 | −2.0 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 69.2 yrs | 2024 | 159/217 | 28/37 | +4.3% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 27.2 | 2024 | 53/196 | 5/30 | −35% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 29.4 | 2024 | 59/196 | 5/30 | −37% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 112 | 2023 | 64/194 | 11/30 | −48% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 1.3% | 2023 | 193/193 | 29/29 | −1.1 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $27.4 | 2023 | 187/193 | 29/29 | −37% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.33 | 2022 | 137/180 | 21/25 | +3.1% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 69% | 2024 | 172/193 | 28/30 | −12.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 0.4% | 2024 | 77/153 | 7/18 | +0.1 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 32.8% | 2023 | 25/154 | 4/25 | −11.4 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 95.9% | 2024 | 115/206 | 23/37 | +20.4 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 88.7% | 2024 | 122/203 | 23/37 | +22.7 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 65.6% | 2024 | 132/188 | 23/28 | +51.3 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 64.8 | 2023 | 187/210 | 26/34 | −7.2% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 2.7 | 2023 | 154/208 | 25/34 | +1,893% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 96.5% | 2024 | 147/215 | 27/36 | +14.0 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 10.0% | 2024 | 170/192 | 30/30 | +5.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 3.35 t | 2024 | 89/203 | 16/37 | +412% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 49.2% | 2022 | 50/212 | 5/37 | −13.2 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 63.3% | 2021 | 49/206 | 2/35 | −33.2 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 56.6% | 2024 | 41/214 | 15/35 | −1.5 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 5.3% | 2024 | 134/206 | 14/34 | −1.2 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 3.9% | 2022 | 115/177 | 11/20 | +0.4 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
head to head