East Asia & Pacific
A life that begins in Lao PDR
One in every 814 babies in the world is born here: about 164,806 a year, 0.31 a minute.
- Population
- 7,873,046
- Births a year
- 164,806
- Life expectancy
- 69.3
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 29.4
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
71.5
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
67
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
27.2
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
29.4
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
112
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.4
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
25
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
10.8
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
17.9
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
≈ 1.5
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
2.4
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
31
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
91
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
51
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
15
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
8.6
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$8,873
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
35
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
7.1
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
1.2
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
69
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
62
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
45
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
40
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
97
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
96
World: 91
Internet users (%)
66
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
5.52
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.08
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 41.1 → 2026: 69.8 → 2050: 74.3
World
1960: 358 → 2026: 27 → 2050: 8
World
1960: 6.3 → 2026: 2.3 → 2050: 1.9
World
1960: 8 → 2026: 41 → 2050: 63
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Lao PDR comes up about once in every 814 lives.
Be born nowCompare Lao PDR with
Other countries in East Asia & Pacific
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.