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Lao PDR — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Lao PDR, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.19%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -52.5% since 1991
Unemployment for Lao PDR was 1.19% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 3.27% in 2017. The lowest was 0.71% in 2010 (about 1.7× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.16% per year.
Lao PDR ranks 180 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 96%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 3.05%, so Lao PDR sits below it. It peaked in 2017 and has fallen 64% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 41%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.19%
First (1991)
2.50%
Change
-52.5%
Highest
3.27%
in 2017
Lowest
0.71%
in 2010
Average
1.86%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-2.16%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.19% |
| 2024 | 1.17% |
| 2023 | 1.19% |
| 2022 | 1.21% |
| 2021 | 2.08% |
| 2020 | 2.35% |
| 2019 | 2.53% |
| 2018 | 2.9% |
| 2017 | 3.27% |
| 2016 | 2.63% |
| 2015 | 2.01% |
| 2014 | 1.73% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. 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
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. 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.