Laos Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; water pollution, most of the population does not have access to potable water

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)

Land use

agricultural land: 10.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 6.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.7% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 67.9% (2018 est.)

other: 21.5% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 38.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

1.48% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 21.15 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 17.76 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 9 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 351,900 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 35,190 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 10% (2015 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Mènam Khong (Mekong) (shared with China [s], Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 130 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 170 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 7.05 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

333.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Laos on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Laos 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Laos 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.