# Laos — national dossier Laos — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each with… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/LAO Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year) ## Overview - Official name: Lao People's Democratic Republic - Capital: Vientiane - Region: South-Eastern Asia, Asia - Population: 7.1 m - Area: 236,800 km² - Languages: Lao - Currency: Lao kip (LAK) A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Economy | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | GDP | $18 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP per capita | $2,325 | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP growth | 4.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Inflation | 7.7% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Trade openness | 75.1% | 2016 | World Development Indicators | ## Society | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Population | 7.9 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Life expectancy | 69.2 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Urban population | 40.3% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Fertility rate | 2.4 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Literacy rate | 75.6% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | ## Governance | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 31.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Political stability | 75.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Government effectiveness | 40.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Regulatory quality | 44.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Rule of law | 44.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Control of corruption | 28.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | ## Health | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 1.3% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Physicians | 0.33 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Under-5 mortality | 29.4 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Measles immunisation | 69.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Safe drinking water | 35.2% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | ## Education | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 75.6% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Education spending | 1.2% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Primary enrolment | 93.1% | 2025 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Secondary enrolment | 50.5% | 2025 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Tertiary enrolment | 14.9% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | ## Technology | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.0% | 2002 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Researchers (per million) | 16 | 2002 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Internet users | 65.6% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | Mobile subscriptions | 65 | 2023 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | High-tech exports | 7.4% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | ## Geography | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Land area | 230,800 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Forest area | 71.5% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Agricultural land | 9.9% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 3.4 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Renewable energy | 49.2% | 2022 | World Development Indicators | ## Resources | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 5.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Mineral rents | 3.9% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Forest rents | 1.5% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Electricity access | 96.5% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Military | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.2% | 2013 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Defense spending | $23 M | 2013 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Armed forces | 129,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:LAO::) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/LAO.claims.json History: "The Land of a Million Elephants, from the Mekong kingdom of Lan Xang through French Indochina and the most bombed nation on earth to a one-party socialist republic." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/LAO/chronicle.md (6 eras, 21 events). ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · 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 2026-08-14 · 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 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Citation template: Terralore, "Laos — national dossier", terralore.co/country/LAO, retrieved .