# Laos and Myanmar compared Laos and Myanmar side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/lao-vs-mmr Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Laos: 1353 — Fa Ngum is crowned king of Lan Xang - Myanmar: 1044 — Anawrahta comes to power and builds the Pagan kingdom ## Economy | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $17 B | 2024 | $74 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $2,124 | 2024 | $1,359 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 4.1% | 2024 | -1.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 23.1% | 2024 | 8.8% | 2019 | | Trade openness | 75.1% | 2016 | — | — | ## Society | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 7.8 m | 2024 | 55 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 69.2 yrs | 2024 | 67.1 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 39.6% | 2024 | 30.4% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 2.4 | 2024 | 2.1 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 31.1 | 2024 | 19.7 | 2024 | | Political stability | 75.4 | 2024 | 30.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 40.0 | 2024 | 21.0 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 44.8 | 2024 | 32.5 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 44.2 | 2024 | 25.8 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 28.0 | 2024 | 22.5 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 1.3% | 2023 | 4.5% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.33 | 2022 | 0.76 | 2019 | | Under-5 mortality | 29.4 | 2024 | 36.9 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 69.0% | 2024 | 71.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 35.2% | 2024 | 59.7% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 75.6% | 2023 | 93.5% | 2020 | | Education spending | 1.2% | 2023 | 2.0% | 2019 | | Primary enrolment | 93.1% | 2025 | 120.2% | 2018 | | Secondary enrolment | 50.5% | 2025 | 77.0% | 2018 | | Tertiary enrolment | 14.9% | 2023 | 20.4% | 2018 | ## Technology | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.0% | 2002 | 0.0% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 16 | 2002 | 28 | 2023 | | Internet users | 65.6% | 2024 | 45.4% | 2020 | | Mobile subscriptions | 65 | 2023 | 114 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 7.4% | 2023 | 5.2% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 230,800 km² | 2023 | 652,670 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 71.5% | 2023 | 42.4% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 9.9% | 2023 | 19.9% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 3.4 | 2024 | 0.6 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 49.2% | 2022 | 62.9% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 5.4% | 2021 | 8.7% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 3.9% | 2021 | 2.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 1.5% | 2021 | 2.2% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 96.5% | 2023 | 76.8% | 2023 | | Rare earths | — | — | 22.0 kt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Laos | Observed | Myanmar | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.2% | 2013 | 6.8% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $23 M | 2013 | $5.0 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 129,000 | 2020 | 463,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/LAO.md and https://terralore.co/country/MMR.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1560 CE: **Setthathirath moves the capital to Vientiane** — Facing Burmese pressure, King Setthathirath transfers his capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, brings the Emerald Buddha, and builds the great stupa of That Luang. (from the Laos chronicle; sources: Setthathirat I; Vientiane) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/LAO/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/MMR/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Laos and Myanmar compared", terralore.co/compare/lao-vs-mmr, retrieved .