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Lao PDR — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Lao PDR, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.32%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · -41.3% since 1961
Population growth for Lao PDR was 1.32% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 2.87% in 1989. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.83% per year.
Lao PDR ranks 77 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 35%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 0.64%, so Lao PDR sits above it. It peaked in 1989 and has fallen 54% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 10%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.32%
First (1961)
2.25%
Change
-41.3%
Highest
2.87%
in 1989
Lowest
1.32%
in 2025
Average
2.02%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.83%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.32% |
| 2024 | 1.36% |
| 2023 | 1.39% |
| 2022 | 1.41% |
| 2021 | 1.44% |
| 2020 | 1.49% |
| 2019 | 1.53% |
| 2018 | 1.55% |
| 2017 | 1.57% |
| 2016 | 1.56% |
| 2015 | 1.46% |
| 2014 | 1.38% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.