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Laos · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / Laos
2025
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Laos

East Asia & Pacific Capital Vientiane Lower middle income Nation age 77 years (since 1949) i LAO · LA
NationsTree Index 2025 i36.2141st of 196 Tree height 2025 i5.0 msee ranking Military strength i73percentile
Population i7.9 m102nd of 217 Area i236,800 km²83rd of 216 GDP i$18.30 bn137th of 210 GDP (PPP) i$81.75 bn intl.111th of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$10,383 intl.138th of 199 Life expectancy i69.2 years159th of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i21
Strength · trunk i32
Quality of life · crown i34
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i42
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i75
CSV

In short

Laos is 141st of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 36.2 out of 100; its tree is 5.0 m tall.

It has 7.9 million people and an economy of $81.75 bn at purchasing power parity, 111th of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: Unemployment (8th of 187), Government budget balance (24th of 192) and Renewable freshwater per person (25th of 183).

Its weakest positions: Voice & accountability (189th of 205), DPT immunization (176th of 193) and Secondary enrolment (155th of 173).

Over five years it climbed from 169th to 141st in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

48
Surface area ikm² 236,800 83rd/216
Land area ikm² 230,800 80th/216
Population ipeople 7.9 m 102nd/217
Population growth i% 1.32% 77th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 33.7 167th/216
Urban population i% 40.3% 172nd/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 29.8% 72nd/217
Population aged 65+ i% 4.8% 152nd/217

Economy

44
GDP iUSD $18.30 bn 137th/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $81.75 bn 111th/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $69.86 bn 111th/199
GDP per person iUSD $2,325 172nd/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $10,383 138th/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $2,150 163rd/201
GDP growth i% 4.5% 62nd/210
Inflation i% 7.7% 149th/180
Unemployment i% 1.2% 8th/187
General government gross debt i% of GDP 88.8% 158th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP 1.9% 24th/192

Main industries

51
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 16.6% 45th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 29.2% 58th/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 9.1% 111th/192
Services i% of GDP 43.6% 173rd/200

Trade

67
Exports of goods & services iUSD $5.28 bn2016
Imports of goods & services iUSD $6.66 bn2016
Exports i% of GDP 33.2%2016
Imports i% of GDP 41.9%2016
Trade openness i% of GDP 75.1%2016
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 1.8% 104th/170
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 32.8% 86th/171
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 23.2% 63rd/171
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 20.2% 26th/171
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 7.4% 83rd/168
Current account balance i% of GDP 12.0% 19th/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP 7.7% 26th/196

Natural resources

64
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 5.4% 69th/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.00% 120th/197
Natural gas rents i% of GDP 0.00% 100th/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 0.23%2012
Mineral rents i% of GDP 3.89% 27th/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 1.49% 44th/209
Arable land i% of land area 5.3% 134th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 25,188 25th/183

Tourism

39
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 886,400 103rd/194
Tourism receipts iUSD $227.0 m 121st/175
Tourism receipts i% of exports 3.5% 97th/168
Outbound trips idepartures 707,000 68th/107

Society & health

22
Life expectancy iyears 69.2 159th/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 29.4 138th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 0.33 131st/174
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 1.7 95th/145
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 67% 176th/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 29.0% 132nd/153
Secondary enrolment i% gross 50.5% 155th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 2.2%2018
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 7.4% 154th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 1.3% 193rd/193
Adult literacy i% 75.6% 72nd/98
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 14.9% 130th/150
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.617 147th/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 34.7 60th/108
Extreme poverty i% of population 7.1% 81st/108

Infrastructure & digital

30
Access to electricity i% of population 96.5% 147th/215
Safely managed drinking water i% of population 35.2% 124th/150
Safely managed sanitation i% of population 71.4% 63rd/144
Internet users i% of population 65.6% 132nd/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 65 187th/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 2.7 154th/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 2.30 117th/164
Air passengers carried ipassengers 842,280 101st/161

Environment & energy

53
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 3.35 115th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 49.2% 50th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 26.0 140th/200
Forest area i% of land area 56.6% 41st/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 842 98th/149

Institutions & safety

29
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 40.2 148th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 28.0 169th/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 48.1 142nd/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 75.3 75th/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 44.1 150th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 27.5 189th/205

Military

65
Military expenditure iUSD $22.8 m2013
Military expenditure i% of GDP 0.2%2013
Military expenditure i% of government spending 0.8%2013
Armed forces personnel ipeople 129,000 47th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 4.08% 9th/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 7.0 m 117th/163

Science & innovation

17
R&D spending i% of GDP 0.04%2002
Patent applications by residents iapplications 1 126th/137
Scientific articles iarticles 72 146th/197

Compare Laos with

BruneiCambodiaMacaoMongoliaPapua New Guinea

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Laos — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/laos. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Laos — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/laos. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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