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COUNTRY PROFILE / LAO

Lao PDR

Lao PDR / LA

01 / BASIC INFORMATION

Lao PDR in numbers.

Area236,800 kmยฒWorld # 83 โ†’Population7.9MWorld # 102 โ†’Population density33.2 people/kmยฒWorld # 163 โ†’Life expectancy69.2 yearsWorld # 157 โ†’GDP per capitaUS$ 2,325World # 171 โ†’

02 / ALL RANKINGS

Lao PDR across 51 rankings.

Essentials

Area236,800 kmยฒWorld # 83 / 2023 โ†’Population7.9MWorld # 102 / 2025 โ†’Population density33.2 people/kmยฒWorld # 163 / Population 2025 ยท area 2023 โ†’Independence / founding reference year1,949World # 105 / CIA World Factbook 2025 archive โ†’

People & society

Population growth1.3%World # 77 / 2025 โ†’Total fertility rate2.4World # 81 / 2024 โ†’Birth rate20.9 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 66 / 2024 โ†’Death rate6.2 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 151 / 2024 โ†’Median age24.3 yearsWorld # 169 / 2023 โ†’Population aged 65+4.8%World # 150 / 2025 โ†’Population aged 0โ€“1429.8%World # 72 / 2025 โ†’Urban population40.3%World # 171 / 2025 โ†’Net migration-10.6KWorld # 153 / 2025 โ†’Net migration rate-1.4 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 140 / 2025 โ†’International migrant share0.7%World # 182 / 2024 โ†’

Health

Life expectancy69.2 yearsWorld # 157 / 2024 โ†’Healthy life expectancy60.4 yearsWorld # 119 / 2021 โ†’Physicians per 1,000 people0.3 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 148 / 2022 โ†’Smoking rate25.4%World # 47 / 2024 โ†’

Economy & work

GDP per capitaUS$ 2,325World # 171 / 2025 โ†’Nominal GDPUS$ 18.3BWorld # 139 / 2025 โ†’GDP per capita (PPP)US$ 10,383World # 138 / 2025 โ†’Real GDP growth4.5%World # 63 / 2025 โ†’Inflation7.7%World # 36 / 2025 โ†’Unemployment1.2%World # 179 / 2025 โ†’Youth unemployment2.4%World # 179 / 2025 โ†’Average annual working hoursNo dataNo rank โ†’Average sleep timeNo dataNo rank โ†’Income inequality (Gini index)34.7World # 83 / 2024 โ†’

Education & science

Education spending (% of GDP)1.2%World # 186 / 2023 โ†’Researchers per million peopleNo dataNo rank โ†’R&D spending (% of GDP)No dataNo rank โ†’Patent applications per million people0.1 per million peopleWorld # 142 / 2018 โ†’

Food & agriculture

Calorie supply per person3,188 kcal/dayWorld # 62 / 2023 โ†’Meat supply per person31.1 kg/person/yearWorld # 132 / 2023 โ†’Rice production3.8M tWorld # 21 / 2024 โ†’Wheat productionNo dataNo rank โ†’Coffee production174.9K tWorld # 13 / 2024 โ†’Coffee consumption per personNo dataNo rank โ†’

Environment & digital

Forest area71.5%World # 16 / 2023 โ†’Electricity use per person1,665 kWh/personWorld # 91 / 2023 โ†’COโ‚‚ emissions per person3.1 tWorld # 108 / 2024 โ†’Internet use65.6%World # 143 / 2024 โ†’Mobile subscriptions64.8 per 100 peopleWorld # 187 / 2023 โ†’

Safety & politics

Homicide rateNo dataNo rank โ†’Road traffic death rate17.9 per 100,000 peopleWorld # 75 / 2019 โ†’Military spending (% of GDP)0.2%World # 157 / 2013 โ†’Women in parliament22%World # 114 / 2025 โ†’

Travel & culture

International tourist arrivals886.4KWorld # 106 / 2020 โ†’International tourism receiptsUS$ 227MWorld # 126 / 2020 โ†’World Heritage sites4 sitesWorld # 84 / 2026-07 โ†’

03 / CULTURE & INDUSTRY

Society, culture and industry.

Largest religious groupBuddhism2015 / 64.7%Main languageLaoMain functional languageLeading electricity sourceHydro2024Top export categoryMinerals and fuels2023Most mapped OSM sportFootball and futsal289 facilities countedWriting directionLeft to rightLaoLargest staple-food calorie sourceRice2023Current currencyLao KipLAKDriving sideRight-hand trafficSide of the road used by trafficCountry-name originNo dataNo comparison data for this country