Laos urban population statistics show a long-term increase in the number of people living in urban areas. The World Bank urban population data listed here records 166,499 urban residents in 1960 and 3,073,369 in 2024. The annual figures below keep each measurement year explicit and describe the dataset as labeled; the supplied provenance identifies it as legacy research that was not independently verified.
Table of contents
- At a glance
- Laos urban population in the 1960s
- Urban population through the 1970s and 1980s
- The 1990s: urban population passes one million
- The 2000s: continued annual growth
- The 2010s: a larger urban population base
- Laos urban population from 2020 to 2024
At a glance
The World Bank urban population data gives an annual series for Laos from 1960 through 2024. The recorded count is below 200,000 at the beginning of the series, reaches 1,204,865 in 2000, and exceeds 3 million in 2024. These are urban population counts, not percentages of Laos’s total population.
| Measurement year | Laos urban population |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 166,499 |
| 1970 | 253,117 |
| 1980 | 407,771 |
| 1990 | 657,297 |
| 2000 | 1,204,865 |
| 2010 | 1,941,232 |
| 2020 | 2,690,190 |
| 2024 | 3,073,369 |
The series therefore provides a consistent way to compare the recorded urban population at decade markers and at the latest supplied year. It does not, by itself, explain the causes of change, identify particular cities, or provide an urbanization percentage.
Laos urban population in the 1960s
The World Bank urban population data records 166,499 urban residents in Laos in 1960. The annual count then moved through 171,508 in 1961, 177,113 in 1962, and 183,221 in 1963. The next three years were recorded at 189,762 in 1964, 196,776 in 1965, and 204,211 in 1966.
The later 1960s continued the same upward pattern in the supplied series. Laos had 213,209 urban residents in 1967, 224,668 in 1968, and 238,129 in 1969. The 1969 figure is the final annual observation before the series reaches its 1970 decade marker.
For a year-by-year view, the complete 1960s sequence is:
- 1960: 166,499
- 1961: 171,508
- 1962: 177,113
- 1963: 183,221
- 1964: 189,762
- 1965: 196,776
- 1966: 204,211
- 1967: 213,209
- 1968: 224,668
- 1969: 238,129
Each figure in this section is labeled as World Bank urban population data. The values should be read as the recorded urban population for the stated year, rather than as a claim about a separately verified census result.
Urban population through the 1970s and 1980s
The 1970s begin with a Laos urban population of 253,117. The data records 269,083 in 1971, 285,413 in 1972, 301,410 in 1973, and 316,997 in 1974. The count was 332,362 in 1975, followed by 347,183 in 1976, 361,583 in 1977, 376,059 in 1978, and 391,248 in 1979.
In 1980, the recorded urban population was 407,771. The annual figures for the first half of the decade were 425,981 in 1981, 445,986 in 1982, 467,710 in 1983, 491,077 in 1984, and 516,039 in 1985. The series then records 542,008 in 1986, 568,791 in 1987, 596,757 in 1988, and 626,167 in 1989.
The decade markers make the sequence easy to scan: 253,117 in 1970, 407,771 in 1980, and 657,297 in 1990. Those values are measurements for Laos as a whole in the supplied national series. They are not city-level figures and do not identify how the urban population was distributed among settlements.
The 1990s: urban population passes one million
Laos urban population data records 657,297 urban residents in 1990. The count was 690,511 in 1991, 726,147 in 1992, 764,627 in 1993, and 806,131 in 1994. The series records 851,755 in 1995, 906,397 in 1996, and 971,065 in 1997.
The next two observations place the one-million mark within the late 1990s. The recorded urban population was 1,043,177 in 1998 and 1,121,757 in 1999. In 2000, the series gives a Laos urban population of 1,204,865.
The full annual sequence from 1990 through 2000 is:
| Year | Urban population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 657,297 |
| 1991 | 690,511 |
| 1992 | 726,147 |
| 1993 | 764,627 |
| 1994 | 806,131 |
| 1995 | 851,755 |
| 1996 | 906,397 |
| 1997 | 971,065 |
| 1998 | 1,043,177 |
| 1999 | 1,121,757 |
| 2000 | 1,204,865 |
This table shows the measurement year beside each count, which matters when comparing annual population statistics. It also shows that the supplied series records more than one million urban residents beginning in 1998.
The 2000s: continued annual growth
At the start of the 2000s, the World Bank urban population data records 1,204,865 in 2000 and 1,290,530 in 2001. The count was 1,376,058 in 2002, 1,458,366 in 2003, and 1,534,276 in 2004. The series records 1,603,700 in 2005, 1,671,955 in 2006, and 1,740,217 in 2007.
The final three years of the decade were recorded at 1,808,008 in 2008, 1,875,116 in 2009, and 1,941,232 in 2010. Thus, the 2010 figure is included here as the endpoint of the 2000s sequence and as the next decade marker.
The annual data for 2001 through 2009 is useful for readers who need more detail than a decade comparison:
- 2001: 1,290,530
- 2002: 1,376,058
- 2003: 1,458,366
- 2004: 1,534,276
- 2005: 1,603,700
- 2006: 1,671,955
- 2007: 1,740,217
- 2008: 1,808,008
- 2009: 1,875,116
The figures remain national urban population counts. No percentage, age breakdown, migration measure, or city ranking is included in the supplied statistics, so those interpretations are outside this series.
The 2010s: a larger urban population base
The data records 1,941,232 urban residents in Laos in 2010. The annual counts for 2011, 2012, and 2013 were 2,006,040, 2,069,272, and 2,130,612. In 2014, the recorded urban population was 2,189,512, followed by 2,252,978 in 2015.
The second half of the decade is recorded at 2,337,023 in 2016, 2,422,070 in 2017, 2,509,429 in 2018, and 2,598,839 in 2019. The 2019 figure is the last observation before the supplied 2020–2024 period.
For this period, the World Bank urban population data gives the following annual values:
| Year | Urban population |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,941,232 |
| 2011 | 2,006,040 |
| 2012 | 2,069,272 |
| 2013 | 2,130,612 |
| 2014 | 2,189,512 |
| 2015 | 2,252,978 |
| 2016 | 2,337,023 |
| 2017 | 2,422,070 |
| 2018 | 2,509,429 |
| 2019 | 2,598,839 |
The table is a count series rather than a rate series. It shows the number recorded for each year, while leaving questions about the definition of urban areas and the factors behind the changes to the underlying source methodology.
Laos urban population from 2020 to 2024
The most recent supplied observations cover 2020 through 2024. The World Bank urban population data records 2,690,190 urban residents in 2020, 2,782,932 in 2021, 2,877,581 in 2022, 2,974,555 in 2023, and 3,073,369 in 2024.
| Measurement year | Laos urban population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,690,190 |
| 2021 | 2,782,932 |
| 2022 | 2,877,581 |
| 2023 | 2,974,555 |
| 2024 | 3,073,369 |
The 2024 observation is the latest year in the supplied series and is the first listed figure above 3 million. It should be treated as the value recorded for 2024 in the World Bank urban population data, not as a separately verified estimate or forecast. The supplied figures also do not identify any later years, so no future projection is included here.
Across the complete period, the series moves from 166,499 in 1960 to 3,073,369 in 2024. This long time span is useful for describing the historical direction of Laos’s recorded urban population, while the explicit year labels help prevent older observations from being confused with the latest value.