Rural population growth (annual %) in Laos
Laos: Rural population growth (annual %) was 0.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Laos, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Laos recorded 0.1% for rural population growth in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of down 54.5% on the previous year and down 92.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Laos peaked at 2.5% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2025.
Laos ranks 110th of 210 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Laos, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.2% | — |
| 1962 | 2.2% | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | -1.0% |
| 1964 | 2.1% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 2.2% | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 2.2% | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 2.1% | -1.7% |
| 1968 | 2.1% | -2.9% |
| 1969 | 2.0% | -2.2% |
| 1970 | 2.0% | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 2.0% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 2.0% | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 2.1% | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 2.1% | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 1.9% | -7.8% |
| 1976 | 1.7% | -13.2% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | -12.3% |
| 1978 | 1.4% | -4.7% |
| 1979 | 1.5% | +6.1% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | +14.1% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +14.6% |
| 1982 | 2.1% | +11.2% |
| 1983 | 2.3% | +6.9% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 2.4% | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 2.5% | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 2.5% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 2.5% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 2.5% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 2.5% | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 2.4% | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 2.3% | -3.5% |
| 1993 | 2.2% | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 2.1% | -7.0% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | -11.5% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | -18.7% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | -33.2% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | -42.5% |
| 1999 | 0.3% | -42.5% |
| 2000 | 0.2% | -47.6% |
| 2001 | 0.1% | -37.2% |
| 2002 | 0.1% | -15.8% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | +22.3% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +63.4% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +137.0% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | +36.9% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +5.8% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -34.4% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -10.9% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -13.4% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | -20.9% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -20.0% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | -19.5% |
| 2024 | 0.1% | -33.4% |
| 2025 | 0.1% | -54.5% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 0.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 7% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 0.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Laos changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +137.0% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| 2004 | +63.4% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 0.3% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More agriculture & rural data for Laos
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1662 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 386.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.0583 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5969 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 10.3% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 4.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Laos?
- Rural population growth in Laos was 0.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 1988.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2025.
- How does Laos rank for rural population growth?
- Laos ranks 110th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 92.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.