Laos had a population of 7,769,819 in 2024, while gross domestic product (GDP) in current US dollars reached $16.5 billion. World Bank Data recorded 4.1% GDP growth and 23.1% inflation in 2024, showing an economy that expanded while facing intense price pressure.
Contents
- Economic size and recent growth
- Inflation, currency, and household pressure
- Public finances and debt
- External position, investment, and remittances
- Sector performance and infrastructure
- People, services, and living conditions
Economic size and recent growth
World Bank Data put Laos’s 2024 GDP per capita at $2,124. GDP growth was 4.1% in 2024, following an estimated 3.7% in 2023 in the World Bank Lao Economic Monitor published in April 2024. The December 2025 World Bank Lao PDR Economic Monitor reported real GDP growth of 2.7% in 2022, 3.7% in 2023, and 4.1% in 2024. It projected real GDP growth of 4.2% in 2025.
These figures are not all the same type of measurement. The 2024 World Bank Data entry reports GDP growth for that year, while the economic-monitor series identifies real GDP growth. The April 2024 monitor was also an estimate-and-outlook publication: it estimated 2023 growth at 3.7% and projected 4.0% real GDP growth for 2024. The later December 2025 monitor reported 4.1% real growth for 2024 and projected 4.2% for 2025.
The monitor’s nominal-GDP series measured Laos’s GDP at 217.1 trillion kip in 2022. It projected nominal GDP of 462.9 trillion kip in 2027. Those kip figures should be read as a separate nominal series from the current-dollar GDP total and from real growth rates.
| Indicator | Measurement | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,769,819 | World Bank Data, 2024 |
| GDP, current US dollars | $16.5 billion | World Bank Data, 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $2,124 | World Bank Data, 2024 |
| GDP growth | 4.1% | World Bank Data, 2024 |
| Real GDP growth | 4.2% projected | World Bank Lao PDR Economic Monitor, 2025 |
| Nominal GDP | 462.9 trillion kip projected | World Bank Lao PDR Economic Monitor, 2027 |
Inflation, currency, and household pressure
Inflation is one of the defining Laos economy statistics in the available record. World Bank Data reports inflation of 23.1% in 2024. The December 2025 monitor reports average inflation of 22.7% in 2022, while the April 2024 monitor reports headline inflation averaging 31% across 2023. That earlier monitor expected inflation above 20% to persist in 2024.
The April 2024 monitor also reported that the annual average official kip-to-US-dollar exchange rate weakened by 31% in 2023. Currency weakness and price increases affected household purchasing power. More than one-third of families saw nominal income growth lag inflation in 2023, according to that monitor. About one-third of households reduced spending on health and education because of high inflation.
The tax system was also part of the reported reform response. The April 2024 monitor said the value-added tax rate was restored to 10%. This is a policy detail from that publication, not a substitute for a current tax-rate assessment.
The December 2025 monitor projected average inflation of 6.2% in 2027. Because this is a forecast, it should not be presented as an observed outcome. The contrast between 31% average headline inflation in 2023 and the 6.2% 2027 projection describes a possible disinflation path, rather than a completed result.
Public finances and debt
The public-finance figures show why debt and debt service are central to Laos’s economic outlook. The April 2024 monitor estimated an overall fiscal deficit of 0.2% of GDP in 2023. It estimated public and publicly guaranteed debt above 110% of GDP in 2023. Debt deferrals owed to China totaled about $2 billion between 2020 and 2023, an amount equal to about 15% of GDP at the 2023 exchange rate. Residual interest and principal payments still amounted to 5% of GDP.
The December 2025 monitor reported total public and publicly guaranteed debt at 131% of GDP in 2022. It projected that measure at 82.0% of GDP in 2027. The different years and publication dates matter: the 131% figure is an observed 2022 value in that monitor, while 82.0% is a projection for 2027. The earlier estimate above 110% of GDP refers to 2023 and comes from the April 2024 monitor.
Fiscal indicators also include revenue, spending, interest, and the balance. Revenues were 14.7% of GDP in 2022, according to the December 2025 monitor, and were projected at 19.6% of GDP in 2027. Expenditures were 15.8% of GDP in 2023. Interest payments were 3.2% of GDP in 2024. The fiscal balance was projected at 0.3% of GDP in 2027.
World Bank Data records $56.00 million in approved International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/International Development Association operations for Lao PDR in fiscal year 2025, along with one new and supplemental World Bank project in that fiscal year. The same source reports $185.02 million in IDA credits disbursed as of May 31, 2022, and $4.23 million in IDA grants disbursed as of that date.
External position, investment, and remittances
Laos’s external accounts combine signs of financing pressure with projected improvement. The December 2025 monitor recorded a current-account balance of -3.0% of GDP in 2022 and projected a positive balance of 3.7% of GDP in 2027. Gross international reserves were $1.480 billion in 2022 and were projected at $3.002 billion in 2027. In 2022, reserves covered 2.2 months of goods-and-services imports.
The April 2024 monitor reported net foreign-exchange inflows of about $250 million in the first three quarters of 2023. It also recorded a 15% increase in registered Lao migrants in Thailand between June 2023 and February 2024. These are period-specific measures and do not quantify the total number of migrants or the value of related transfers.
World Bank Data reports foreign direct investment net inflows equal to 6.0% of GDP in 2024. Personal remittances received were 1.5% of GDP in 2024. Together, these indicators identify two external sources of funds, but their different definitions mean they should not be added together as one combined inflow.
Sector performance and infrastructure
The sector figures point to different growth rates across agriculture, industry, and services. Agriculture growth was 1.6% in 2022, according to the December 2025 monitor. Industry growth was 3.3% in 2022. Services growth was 5.4% in 2023. The same monitor projected agriculture growth of 3.0% in 2027.
Road conditions are a measurable constraint in the infrastructure data. Only 31.7% of Laos’s road network was in sustainable condition, according to the December 2025 monitor. The annual allocation needed for road rehabilitation and maintenance was estimated at about $335.6 million over the next five years. The source does not provide a total road length in the supplied figures, so the sustainable share cannot be converted into kilometers here.
Electricity access reached 96.5% of the population in 2023, according to World Bank Data. The same source reports that electricity production from renewable sources excluding hydroelectric power was -10.0% of total in 2021. That negative reported value is retained as published; it is not reinterpreted or corrected here. Forest area covered 71.5% of land area in 2023.
World Bank Data also reports CO2 emissions excluding land-use change and forestry at 3.4 tons per capita in 2024. Annual freshwater withdrawals equaled 4% of internal resources in 2022. Safely managed sanitation services covered 71% of the population in 2024.
People, services, and living conditions
The population increased by 1.4% in 2024, while net migration was -10,645 in 2025, according to World Bank Data. Life expectancy at birth was 69 years in 2024. The poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day was 7.1% in 2024. The poverty measure uses the stated $3.00-a-day threshold and should not be compared with a different poverty line without adjustment.
Labor and digital indicators provide additional context. Unemployment was 1.2% of the labor force in 2025. Internet use reached 66% of the population in 2024. Women held 22% of seats in the national parliament in 2025. These observations come from different years, so they describe separate points in time rather than a single-year social profile.
The Statistical Performance Indicators overall score for Lao PDR was 60.8 out of 100 in 2024, according to World Bank Data. This score is a statistical-system indicator, not a measure of GDP, household income, or economic growth.
Taken together, the figures describe an economy with 4.1% reported 2024 growth, high inflation, substantial public debt, improving projected fiscal and external measures, and continuing infrastructure and household pressures. Each result remains tied to its stated measurement year and to whether the World Bank source reported an observation, estimate, or projection.