Economy of Laos

Economy of Laos

Vientiane
Currency	Lao Kip (LAK, ₭)
Fiscal year	1 October – 30 September
Trade organizations	ASEAN WTO RCEP G77
Country group	Developing/Emerging Lower-middle income economy
Statistics
Population	7,425,057 (2021)
GDP	$14.44 billion (nominal, 2025 est.) $78.754 billion (PPP, 2025 est.)
GDP rank	137th (nominal, 2024 est.) 106th (PPP, 2024 est.)
GDP growth	6.3% (2018) 4.7% (2019e) 1.0% (2020f) 4.6% (2021f)
GDP per capita	$1,854 (nominal, 2025 est.) $10,112 (PPP, 2025 est.)
GDP per capita rank	150nd (nominal, 2024 est.) 124th (PPP, 2024 est.)
GDP by sector	Primary sector: 20.9% Secondary sector: 33.2% Tertiary sector: 45.9% (2017 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	40.3% (Jan 2023 est.)
Population below poverty line	22% (2013 est.) 58.7% on less than $3.20/day (2012)
Gini coefficient	36.4 medium (2012)
Human Development Index	0.604 medium (2018) (140th) 0.454 low IHDI (2018)
Labor force	3,800,051 (2019) 36.9% employment rate (2017)
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 73.1% industry: 6.1% services: 20.6% (2012 est.)
Unemployment	9.4% (2017)
Main industries	Copper, tin, gold, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, rubber construction, garments, cement and tourism
External
Exports	$3.654 billion (2017 est.)
Export goods	wood products, electricity, coffee, tin, copper, gold and cassava
Main export partners	Thailand 35.2% China 29.2% Vietnam 10.4% (2022)
Imports	$4.976 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Main import partners	Thailand 52.3% China 21.4% Vietnam 8.9% (2022)
FDI stock	$15.14 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Current account	−$2.057 billion (2017 est.)
Gross external debt	$17.16 billion (2020 est)
Public finances
Government debt	63.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
Budget balance	−5.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Revenues	3.099 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses	4.038 billion (2017 est.)
Economic aid	$0.4 billion (1999 est.)
Foreign reserves	$1.27 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Laos is a lower-middle income developing economy. Being a socialist state (along with China, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea), the Lao economic model resembles the Chinese socialist market and/or Vietnamese socialist-oriented market economies by combining high degrees of state ownership with openness to foreign direct investment and private ownership in a predominantly market-based framework.

Following independence, Laos established a Soviet-type planned economy. As part of economic restructuring that aimed to integrate Laos into the globalized world market, the country underwent reforms called the "New Economic Mechanism" in 1986 that decentralized government control and encouraged private enterprise alongside state-owned enterprises. As of 2007, Laos ranked among the fastest-growing economies in the world, averaging 8% a year in GDP growth. It was forecasted that Laos would sustain at least 7% growth through 2019.

The key goals for the government included pursuing poverty reduction and education for all children, with an initiative to become a "land-linked" country. This was showcased through the construction of the nearly $6 billion high-speed rail from Kunming, China to Vientiane, Laos. The country opened a stock exchange, the Lao Securities Exchange, in 2011, and has become a rising regional player in its role as a hydroelectric power supplier to its neighbors China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Lao economy relies largely on Foreign direct investment to attract capital from overseas. The long-term goal of the Lao economy, as enshrined in the constitution, is economic development in the direction of socialism.

Despite rapid growth, Laos remains one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. A landlocked country, it has inadequate infrastructure and a largely unskilled work force. Nonetheless, Laos continues to attract foreign investment as it integrates with the broader ASEAN economic community, due to its plentiful, young workforce, and favorable tax environment.

Laos has significant hydropower resources; the country also has large potential for small-scale hydro- and solar power. Excess electricity from hydropower is exported to other countries. Despite this, the country continues to also rely on coal in its electricity production.

Economic history

With the overthrow of the Laotian monarchy in 1975, the Pathet Lao's communist government instituted a planned economy of the Soviet-style command economy system, replacing the private sector with state enterprises and cooperatives; centralizing investment, production, trade, and pricing; and creating barriers to internal and foreign trade.

Seizure of power by the Communists also resulted in the withdrawal of mainly American external investment, on which the country had become greatly dependent as a result of the destruction of domestic capital during the Indochina Wars.

This changed in 1986 when the government announced its "new economic mechanism" (NEM). Initially timid, the NEM was expanded to include a range of reforms designed to create conditions conducive to private sector activity. Prices set by market forces replaced government-determined prices. Farmers were permitted to own land and sell crops on the open market. State firms were granted increased decision-making authority and lost most of their subsidies and pricing advantages. The government set the exchange rate close to real market levels, lifted trade barriers, replaced import barriers with tariffs, and gave private sector firms direct access to imports and credit.

With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, in 1991, the PDR Lao government reached an agreement with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on additional reforms. The government agreed to introduce fiscal and monetary reform, promote private enterprise and foreign investment, privatize or close state firms, and strengthen banking. It also agreed to maintain a market exchange rate, reduce tariffs, and eliminate unneeded trade regulations. A liberal foreign investment code was also enacted. Enforcement of intellectual property rights is governed by two Prime Minister's Decrees dating from 1995 and 2002.

In an attempt to stimulate further international commerce, the PDR Lao government accepted Australian aid to build a bridge across the Mekong River to Thailand. The "Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge", between Vientiane Prefecture and Nong Khai Province, Thailand, was inaugurated in April 1994. Although the bridge has created additional commerce, the Lao government does not yet permit a completely free flow of traffic across the span.

These reforms led to economic growth and an increased availability of goods. However, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, coupled with the Lao government's own mismanagement of the economy, resulted in spiraling inflation and a steep depreciation of the kip, which lost 87% of its value from June 1997 to June 1999. Tighter monetary policies brought about greater macroeconomic stability in FY 2000, and monthly inflation, which had averaged about 10% during the first half of FY 1999, dropped to an average 1% over the same period in FY 2000.

In FY 1999, foreign grants and loans accounted for more than 20% of GDP and more than 75% of public investment.

The economy continues to be dominated by an unproductive agricultural sector operating largely outside the money economy and in which the public sector continues to play a dominant role. Still, a number of private enterprises have been founded in industries such as handicrafts, beer, coffee and tourism. With United Nations, Japanese, and German support, a formerly state-controlled chamber of commerce aims to promote private business: the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its provincial subdivisions.

The latest round of state-owned enterprise reform in 2019 aims to ensure that the remaining SOEs become profitable ventures that are efficient and sustainable sources of income for the national treasury. These measures include closing unproductive enterprises, ensure businesses in which the state has investments are reformed into profitable ventures, and reduce corruption. As of 2019, the State-Owned Enterprise Development and Insurance Department of the Lao government has 183 enterprises under its supervision.

Laos faced an economic crisis in 2022. Caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and external debt primarily from China, it escalated into massive inflation and a debt crisis, bringing the country to the brink of default. As of late 2023, the country is still facing significant economic problems. A World Bank report finds that the economic instability "largely results from low revenue and accumulated debt. There is moreover a need to improve the efficiency of public expenditure and tackle the potential costs of state-owned enterprises and public-private partnerships.” The Lao kip currency value has fallen and inflation remains higher than before the pandemic. The same World Bank report states that "the main factor in the kip’s falling value has been the lack of foreign currency available (...) a result of the need to repay large external debts, despite some deferrals, and limited capital inflows." The per capita GDP of Laos has gone down from $2,595 in 2021 to $1,824 in 2023 because of the kip’s depreciation.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Laos

See also: Rice production in Laos

Agriculture, mostly subsistence rice farming, dominates the economy, employing an estimated 85% of the population and producing 51% of GDP. Domestic savings are low, forcing Laos to rely heavily on foreign assistance and concessional loans as investment sources for economic development.

Agricultural products include sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry.

In mid-2012, the Laos government issued a four-year moratorium for new mining projects. The reasons cited were environmental and social concerns relating to the use of agricultural land.

In 2019 Laos produced:

• 3.4 million tons of rice;
• 3.1 million tons of roots and tubers;
• 2.2 million tons of cassava;
• 1.9 million tons of sugarcane;
• 1.5 million tons of vegetable;
• 1.0 million tons of banana;
• 717 thousand tons of maize;
• 196 thousand tons of watermelon;
• 165 thousand tons of coffee;
• 154 thousand tons of taro;
• 114 thousand tons of sweet potato;
• 56 thousand tons of tobacco;
• 53 thousand tons of peanut;
• 46 thousand tons of orange;
• 43 thousand tons of pineapple;
• 23 thousand tons of papaya;
• 8.6 thousand tons of tea;

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Laos

As of 2011, tourism was the fastest-growing industry and played a vital role in the Lao economy. The government opened Laos to the world in the 1990s, and the country has since become a popular destination for travelers.

Other statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity – $14.2 billion (2009 est.)
Exchange rate – kip (LAK) per US dollar – 8,556.56 (2009), 8,760.69 (2008), 9,658 (2007), 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005)

• Oil – production:

0 bbl/d (2009 est.)

• Oil – consumption:

3,000 bbl/d (480 m³/d) (2009 est.)

• Oil – exports:

0 bbl/d (2007 est.)

• Oil – imports:

3,080 bbl/d (490 m³/d) (2007 est.)

Of the total foreign investment in Laos in 2012, the mining industry got 27% followed by electricity generation which had a 25% share.

External links

• Rice research in Lao PDR
• Rice Biodiversity in Lao PDR Archived 14 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine