Economy - overview:
The government of Laos, one of the few remaining one-party communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 6% per year from 1988-2008 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with an underdeveloped infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. It has a rudimentary, but improving, road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in urban areas and in many rural districts. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice cultivation in lowland areas, accounts for about 30% of GDP and 75% of total employment. Economic growth has reduced official poverty rates from 46% in 1992 to 26% in 2010. The economy has benefited from high foreign investment in hydropower, mining, and construction. Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US in 2004, and is taking steps required to join the World Trade Organization, such as reforming import licensing. Related trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, Laos initiated a VAT tax system in 2010. Simplified investment procedures and expanded bank credits for small farmers and small entrepreneurs will improve Lao's economic prospects. The government appears committed to raising the country's profile among investors, opening the country's first stock exchange in 2011. The World Bank has declared that Laos's goal of graduating from the UN Development Program's list of least-developed countries by 2020 is achievable. Lao's growth has exceeded 7% in each of the last four years. According Laotian officials, the 7th Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2011-15 will outline efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Exchange rates:
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Laos on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Laos Economy 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Laos Economy 2012 should be addressed to the CIA.
$17.44 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]
$7.9 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
8.3% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$2,700 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 27.8%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 34.8%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services: 37.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
3.69 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 75.1%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry and services: NA (2010 est.)
2.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
26% (2010 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 3.3%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 30.3% (2008)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
36.7 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
revenues: $1.365 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $1.594 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]
17.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
-2.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
7.8% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
4.3% (31 December 2010)
country comparison to the world: 93
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
22% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$992 million (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$3.227 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$2.53 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry
copper, tin, gold, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, cement, tourism
17.7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
1.553 billion kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
2.23 billion kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
341 million kWh (2010 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
999 million kWh (2010 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
3,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 182
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
1,918 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 196
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$76.7 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$1.842 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold
Thailand 31.1%, China 23%, Vietnam 12.9% (2010)
$2.37 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods
Thailand 65.6%, China 14.6%, Vietnam 6.6% (2010)
$756.8 million (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$5.094 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
kips (LAK) per US dollar -
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 07-Mar-12