Laos
Everything Palanor holds about Laos, in one place: 36 public signals, what its economy runs on, how often America’s largest companies name it, the news that names it, and Country Posture. Every figure is computed from stored readings and carries its source and date.
AsiaAsia-Pacific
Country Posture
What Laos’s economy is doing
Momentum
2025Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.590 below 0.60; AUC 0.590 below the single-input baseline (0.624); 2010–2022: AUC 0.595 below 0.60; AUC 0.595 below the single-input baseline (0.641).
Inputs
| Real GDP growth | 4.5 |
| Growth against its three-year average | 1.0 |
| Change in unemployment | 0.0 |
| Change in the employment rate | 0.1 |
| Export volume growth | — |
| OECD leading indicator | — |
Resilience
202349Moderate buffers
0 = thin buffers · 100 = deep buffers
Moved most by current account (up) and interest as a share of revenue (up) since the year before.
Inputs
| Interest as a share of revenue (2022) | 11.8 | 21 |
| Budget balance (2022) | 0.2 | 86 |
| Reserves, months of imports | 2.2 | 29 |
| Current account | 2.6 | 84 |
| Governance (WGI mean) | -0.70 | 55 |
| External debt | 123 | 19 |
Pressure
2025Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.657 below the single-input baseline (0.672).
Inputs
| Inflation | 7.7 |
| Change in inflation | -15.4 |
| Currency move against the dollar | 1.4% |
| Conflict deaths per million | 0.0 |
| Political stability | 0.55 |
| Private credit, three-year change | — |
| Bond spread over U.S. Treasuries | — |
Posture describes what an economy is doing; it is not a rating and never ranks countries. Each input is read against the country’s own history and against every other economy that year. An axis shows a score only after passing a back-test fixed before any result was computed. Method and back-test.
Passport reach
Where a Laos passport opens doors
The share of world GDP, outside Laos itself, in the economies whose published rules let a holder of this passport in, as of October 2026. Palanor records the rules of destinations holding 88% of world GDP, from each government’s own list, and weights them by World Bank GDP for 2025. Rank is among 199 passports.
Work
0.0%rank 114 of 199
the right to work (free movement in full; treaty and working-holiday routes at half); 0 destinations in full.
Recorded changes
- 2026-01-01United States · visit: Visa required → Not admitted source
Reach is shown here and not weighted into Country Strength: it rewards membership of a free-movement area or a treaty more than the strength of an economy. Entry is always at the border officer’s discretion, and conditions (length of stay, fees, age limits) vary. Method, sources and the full ranking: Passports and citizenship.
Palanor calculation from each destination government's published rules; GDP weights from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0), one year for the whole line, so it moves only when a list changes.
IMF World Economic Outlook
The IMF’s outlook for Laos
The latest year before the October 2026 edition (often still an IMF estimate) and the IMF’s own projections. These are the IMF’s published forecasts, shown as published; Palanor does not project them further. Since the previous edition the IMF raised its growth forecast for this year by 0.5 percentage points (Palanor calculation).
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 IMF f’cast | 2027 IMF f’cast | 2031 IMF f’cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth% | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Inflation, average consumer prices% | 7.7 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 8.5 |
| GDP, current US dollarsUS$ bn | 16.9 | 18.4 | 19.7 | 24.3 |
| GDP at purchasing-power parityintl $ bn | 88.0 | 95.1 | 102.5 | 126.3 |
| GDP per person, US dollarsUS$ | 2,171 | 2,331 | 2,464 | 2,902 |
| Current account balance% of GDP | 12.0 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| Government gross debt% of GDP | 88.8 | 79.8 | 71.9 | 52.1 |
| Government overall balance% of GDP | 1.9 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 |
| Government primary balance% of GDP | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.1 |
| Government net interest paid% of GDP · Palanor calc. | 3.1 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026. Provided by the IMF “as is” and free of charge from the IMF; the IMF does not endorse Palanor. Net interest paid is a Palanor calculation: the IMF's primary balance minus its overall balance.
Conflict
Organized violence
News
In the news
- China: China expands exports, opens Laos airfield
Export surge, military foothold, and EV market expansion as Europe weighs responses.
Palanor Wire2026-10-15positive · +expands
- China's newly opened joint military airfield in Laos is Beijing's first overseas facility focused on air power.
The Associated Press · Bluesky2026-10-15neutral
- Chinese social media used to promote illegal wildlife trade in Laos
Mongabay2026-10-14neutral
- Laos: Wage gap and rising costs drive mass labour migration as government reviews minimum wage
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre2026-10-12negative · -costs rising
- Airport training site in Laos extends China’s clout in Southeast Asia
Defense News2026-10-12neutral
- Laos officials deny that China is building an air base and claim foreign militaries are constitutionally not allowed in the country. That will do little to smooth over Western anxieties, however
The Economist · Bluesky2026-10-11neutral
- For the moment it is uncertain how many troops or planes there are at Ban Keun, an airfield in Laos. But if China did want to base them in the country, the host government might find it difficult to object
The Economist · Bluesky2026-10-09negative · -ban
- Some analysts are concerned that Laos may have opened the door to the first Chinese air base in mainland South-East Asia. If so, that would be a huge step for China. Register for free to discover why
The Economist · Bluesky2026-10-09neutral
- Singaporean pilot detained as Laos finds 521 kg of meth on private jet bound for Manila
Marketaux (financial news API)2026-10-07neutral
- EXCLUSIVE: Attack aircraft, military vehicles visible at new China-Laos base, satellite images show reut.rs/47E84yA
Reuters · Bluesky2026-10-06negative · -attack
- China opens training center with Laos, marking third overseas military base
Breaking Defense2026-09-30neutral
Headlines that name Laos, matched by name with fixed rules (a wrong match is worse than a missing one). Tone is read from each headline’s own words; no model reads or summarizes an article, and other publishers’ stories link out.
Company graph
Companies headquartered in Laos
Palanor’s company graph holds 1 entities headquartered here (GLEIF headquarters address, else legal address).
Signals
Every series about Laos
Grouped by theme, the most-read first. All 36 in the Library.
Energy and resources1
- Laos · Electric Car Share of New Car Sales1y +11.00 pts36% of new car sales2025
Conflict and geopolitics2 of 6
- Laos · Organized-Violence Deaths (UCDP, annual)record low since 1989; 1y unchanged0 deaths2025
- Laos · State-Based Conflict Deaths (UCDP, annual)record low since 1989; 1y unchanged0 deaths2025
AI stance and technology1
- AI User Share: Laos (Microsoft AI Diffusion)1y +2.40 pts8.4% of people aged 15-642026-06-30
Peers
Elsewhere in Asia
Alphabetical. Palanor does not rank countries.
AfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBhutanBruneiCambodiaChinaCyprusGeorgiaHong KongIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelJapanJordanKazakhstanKuwaitKyrgyzstanLebanonMacaoMalaysiaMaldivesMongoliaMyanmarNepalNorth KoreaOmanPakistanPalestinePhilippinesQatarSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth KoreaSri LankaSyriaTaiwanTajikistanThailandTimor-LesteTürkiyeTurkmenistanUnited Arab EmiratesUzbekistanVietnamYemen