Share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos
Laos: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 55.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos is 55.9%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos peaked at 94.1% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 40.5%, in 2016.
Laos ranks 108th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 93.2% | — |
| 1962 | 93.7% | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 93.9% | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 91.8% | -2.2% |
| 1965 | 92.0% | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 91.9% | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 91.7% | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 92.2% | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 90.9% | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 91.3% | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 92.4% | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 92.5% | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 92.1% | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 92.0% | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 92.1% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 94.1% | +2.2% |
| 1977 | 94.1% | -0.0% |
| 1978 | 93.6% | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 92.4% | -1.3% |
| 1980 | 91.0% | -1.6% |
| 1981 | 90.1% | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 90.8% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 90.9% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 89.4% | -1.6% |
| 1985 | 89.4% | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 89.1% | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 91.2% | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 92.1% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 89.8% | -2.5% |
| 1990 | 89.7% | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 91.7% | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 90.2% | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 91.8% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 90.1% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 91.2% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 91.4% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 87.8% | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 82.7% | -5.8% |
| 1999 | 70.6% | -14.6% |
| 2000 | 70.8% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 65.2% | -7.8% |
| 2002 | 63.0% | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 65.6% | +4.2% |
| 2004 | 61.6% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 57.3% | -7.0% |
| 2006 | 56.3% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 48.2% | -14.3% |
| 2008 | 40.7% | -15.5% |
| 2009 | 41.5% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 52.4% | +26.4% |
| 2011 | 52.9% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 52.0% | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 50.3% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 46.6% | -7.3% |
| 2015 | 42.9% | -8.1% |
| 2016 | 40.5% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 42.0% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 49.5% | +17.7% |
| 2019 | 53.2% | +7.5% |
| 2020 | 56.1% | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 58.8% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 56.9% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 55.9% | -1.7% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 55.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.2%, 74% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 55.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 76.1%, 74% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of cereals allocated to human food 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +26.4% | 41.5% | 52.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 92.4% | 90.9% | 93.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 92.7% | 91.3% | 94.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 90.4% | 89.1% | 92.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 87.7% | 70.6% | 91.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 57.0% | 40.7% | 70.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.2% | 40.5% | 53.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.9% | 55.9% | 58.8% | 4 |
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 share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Laos was 55.9% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 94.1% in 1976.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.5% in 2016.
- How does Laos rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Laos ranks 108th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.