Demographics & population — Laos
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Laos: 7,447,296
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
7,447,296
- Population Growth Rate
1.63%
- Urban Population
- Population in Major Urban Areas
VIENTIANE (capital) 810,000
Age & family
- Age Structure
- Median Age
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
25
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
7.86
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
2.98
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
38.4%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
38.4%
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
-1.12
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
- Language Note
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- Some ethnic minority languages have never been codified in written form. A small percentage of older people and those who attended high school prior to 1975 speak French, which has been the language of international commerce in the past. Some English is spoken.<
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- The official language is Lao, the native language of the lowland Lao which is used in all official communications and taught in schools. Other main languages include Thai, Hmong, and midland Lao.<
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- Nationality Noun
Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
68.7%
- Literacy - male
77.4%
- Literacy - female
55.5%
- Literacy Definition
age 15 and over can read and write
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
2.8%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
470
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
.19
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
.7
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
2.8%
- Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
very high
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
2.6%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
31.6%
