International Rankings of Laos 2024, country comparisons

This table lists the international rankings of Laos, in all categories that are published in the CIA World Factbook, and those that we derived from them. Additional international rankings of Laos, can be found in the main country ranks menu.
For a definition of each entry, visit the Definitions page.

Ranked Data	Rank	Value	Year
Communications
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	52	2.00	2020
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - total	127	128000	2020
Internet users - percent of population	56	62.00 %	2021
Internet users - total	102	4.588 million	2021
Telephones - fixed lines - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	41	18.00	2021
Telephones - fixed lines - total subscriptions	64	1.300 million	2021
Telephones - mobile cellular - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	83	65.00	2021
Telephones - mobile cellular - total subscriptions	125	4.823 million	2021
Economy
Average household expenditures - on alcohol and tobacco	1	10.50 % of household expenditures	2018
Average household expenditures - on food	6	50.00 % of household expenditures	2018
Budget - expenditures	126	3.839 billion US Dollars	2019
Budget - revenues	133	2.896 billion US Dollars	2019
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)	78	5.50 % of GDP	N/A
Current account balance	60	446.572 million US Dollars	2021
Debt - external	105	14.900 billion US Dollars	2017
Exchange rates	6	9697.92	N/A
Exports	118	7.820 billion US Dollars	2021
GDP (official exchange rate)	125	16.970 billion US Dollars	2017
GDP - composition by end use - exports of goods and services	102	34.60 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - government consumption	92	14.10 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - household consumption	97	63.70 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - imports of goods and services	87	43.20 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in fixed capital	24	30.90 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in inventories	28	3.10 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - agriculture	41	20.90 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - industry	47	33.20 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - services	158	45.90 % of GDP	2017
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income	52	39 %	2018
Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10%	58	30.30 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	2008
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%	18	3.30 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	N/A
Imports	131	6.527 billion US Dollars	2021
Industrial production growth rate	54	7.61 %	2021
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	87	3.76 %	2021
Labor force	99	3.915 million US Dollars	2021
Population below poverty line	100	18 %	2018
Public debt	70	63.60 % of GDP	2017
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)	110	58.264 billion US Dollars	2021
Real GDP growth rate	141	2.53 %	2021
Real GDP per capita	129	7800 US Dollars	2021
Remittances	111	1	2020
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	139	1.476 billion US Dollars	2021
Taxes and other revenues	101	18.30 % of GDP	N/A
Unemployment rate	204	1.26 %	2021
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - female	151	3.20 %	N/A
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - male	147	3.40 %	N/A
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - total	151	3.30 %	2021
Energy
Carbon dioxide emissions - from coal and metallurgical coke	26	37.871 million metric tonnes of CO2	2019
Carbon dioxide emissions - from petroleum and other liquids	144	2.855 million metric tonnes of CO2	2019
Carbon dioxide emissions - total	64	40.726 million	2019
Coal - consumption	27	15.823 million metric tons	2020
Coal - exports	32	235000 metric tons	2020
Coal - imports	105	18000 metric tons	2020
Coal - production	23	16.040 million metric tons	2020
Coal - proven reserves	39	503.000 million metric tons	2019
Electricity - consumption	123	5.109 billion kWh	2019
Electricity - exports	8	24.114 billion kWh	2019
Electricity - imports	66	1.345 billion kWh	2019
Electricity - installed generating capacity	68	9.346 million kWh	2020
Electricity - transmission/distribution losses	81	2.262 billion kWh	2019
Electricity generation sources - biomass and waste	55	0.20 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - fossil fuels	119	35.60 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - hydroelectricity	32	64.10 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - solar	68	0.10 %	2020
Energy consumption per capita	81	73.187 million Btu/person	2019
Petroleum - refined petroleum consumption	141	19300 bbl/day	2019
Refined petroleum products - imports	133	17460 bbl/day	2015
Environment
Air pollutants - carbon dioxide emissions	84	18 megatons	2016
Air pollutants - methane emissions	96	9 megatons	2020
Air pollutants - particulate matter emissions	75	21 micrograms per cubic meter	2019
Land use - agricultural land	168	11	2018
Land use - arable land	116	6	2018
Land use - forest	16	68	2018
Land use - permanent crops	78	1	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	141	4	2018
Revenue from forest resources	44	1 % of GDP	2018
Total renewable water resources	33	333.500 billion cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - agricultural	46	7.050 billion cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - industrial	78	170.000 million cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - municipal	101	130.000 million cubic meters	2020
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	42	2.99	N/A
Urbanization - urban population	145	38	2023
Geography
Area - land	81	230800 sq km	N/A
Area - total	86	236800 sq km	N/A
Area - water	64	6000 sq km	N/A
Elevation - highest point	66	2817 meters	N/A
Elevation - lowest point	25	70 meters	N/A
Elevation - mean elevation	49	710 meters	N/A
Irrigated land	59	4409 sq km	2020
Land boundaries - total	34	5274 km	N/A
Land use - agricultural land	168	11	2018
Land use - arable land	116	6	2018
Land use - forest	16	68	2018
Land use - permanent crops	78	1	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	141	4	2018
Population Density	181	34.02 Persons per sq km	N/A
Population
Alcohol consumption per capita - beer	38	4 liters of pure alcohol	2019
Alcohol consumption per capita - spirits	12	4 liters of pure alcohol	2019
Alcohol consumption per capita - total	39	8 liters of pure alcohol	2019
Birth rate	62	20.40 births/1,000 population	2023
Child marriage - men married by age 18	5	11	2017
Child marriage - women married by age 15	22	7	N/A
Child marriage - women married by age 18	16	33	N/A
Children under the age of 5 years underweight	10	21 %	2017
Contraceptive prevalence rate	62	54.10 %	2017
Current health expenditure	87	3 % of GDP	2020
Currently married women (ages 15-49)	61	60 %	2023
Death rate	65	6.30 deaths/1,000 population	2023
Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio	130	6.70 %	N/A
Dependency ratios - potential support ratio	42	14.80 %	2021
Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio	91	54.70 %	N/A
Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio	65	48.00 %	N/A
Drinking water source - improved	26	97 % of population	N/A
Drinking water source - rural	53	16 % of population	N/A
Drinking water source - total	43	11 % of population	2020
Drinking water source - unimproved	39	3 % of population	N/A
Education expenditures	63	2 % of GDP	2020
Gross reproduction rate	60	1.13 %	2023
Infant mortality rate - female	36	32.60 deaths/1,000 live births	N/A
Infant mortality rate - male	35	40.40 deaths/1,000 live births	N/A
Infant mortality rate - total	36	36.60 deaths/1,000 live births	2023
Life expectancy at birth - female	113	70 years	N/A
Life expectancy at birth - male	112	67 years	N/A
Life expectancy at birth - total population	111	69 years	2023
Literacy - definition	2	15	N/A
Literacy - female	74	81 %	2021
Literacy - male	43	91 %	N/A
Literacy - total population	59	87 %	N/A
Maternal mortality ratio	59	126.00 deaths/100,000 live births	2020
Median age - female	127	25 years	N/A
Median age - male	121	25 years	N/A
Median age - total	115	25 years	2023
Net migration rate	70	1.10 migrant(s)/1,000 population	N/A
Obesity - adult prevalence rate	134	5.30 %	2016
Physicians density	136	0.35 physicians/1,000 population	2020
Population	103	7.852 million	2023
Population growth rate	64	1.30 %	2023
Sanitation facility access - improved	1	100 % of population	N/A
Sanitation facility access - rural	61	28 % of population	N/A
Sanitation facility access - total	57	18 % of population	2020
Sex ratio - 0-14 years	13	1.03 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - 15-64 years	24	0.99 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - 65 years and over	27	0.86 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - at birth	10	1.04 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - total population	19	1.00 male(s)/female	N/A
Total fertility rate	71	2.30 children born/woman	2023
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	42	2.99	N/A
Urbanization - urban population	145	38	2023
Transportation
Airports	109	18	2024
Merchant marine - total	141	1	2023
National air transport system - annual freight traffic on registered air carriers	110	1.530 million	2018
National air transport system - annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers	93	1.252 million	2018
National air transport system - inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers	90	12.00	N/A
National air transport system - number of registered air carriers	27	1	2020
Railways - total	89	422 km	2023
Roadways - paved	42	13718 km	2024
Roadways - total	51	59647 km	2024
Waterways	27	4600 km	2012

*CALCULATED FIGURES are those that we calculated from data presented by the CIA World Factbook. For example, we calculated population density by dividing the total population by the land area, the electricity consumption per capita by dividing electricity consumption by the total population, etc.

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.