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Theatre of the Royal Palace, Luang Prabang, Laos.

Photo: Tango7174 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

Food & Agriculture

99th

of 184 countries placed

Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics

01The evidence

The 4 key statistics that decide it

Only these place Laos on food & agriculture — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys
  1. Key 1 of 4

    Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Why it is a key

    2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    3.29

    Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators

    Higher is better

    Laos: 3.29. Across the 186 countries in this edition, values run from 1.67 (Tuvalu) to 4.57 (Italy); the world median is 3.14.

    World median
    3.14
    Best in South-eastern Asia
    3.67 Singapore
    Land neighbours
    China 4.17 · Cambodia 2.57 · Myanmar 3.14 · Thailand 2.86 · Vietnam 3.14
  2. Key 2 of 4

    Cereal Yield

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Why it is a key

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0

    4,102

    Cereal yield (kg per hectare)

    Higher is better

    Laos: 4,102. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.

    World median
    3,072
    Best in South-eastern Asia
    5,995 Vietnam
    Land neighbours
    China 6,418 · Cambodia 3,722 · Myanmar 3,796 · Thailand 3,072 · Vietnam 5,995
  3. Key 3 of 4

    Dietary Energy Supply

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Why it is a key

    2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    2,566

    Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)

    Higher is better

    Laos: 2,566. Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.

    World median
    2,982
    Best in South-eastern Asia
    3,015 Vietnam
    Land neighbours
    China 3,504 · Myanmar 2,869 · Thailand 2,815 · Vietnam 3,015
  4. Key 4 of 4

    Agriculture Orientation Index

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Why it is a key

    2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    No reading

    Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)

    Higher is better

    FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Laos, so the standing rests on the other keys.

    Across the 132 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Ghana) to 5.38 (Singapore); the world median is 0.305.

    World median
    0.305
    Best in South-eastern Asia
    5.38 Singapore
    Land neighbours
    China 0.95 · Thailand 0.54

03In context

Laos beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 184 countries on food & agriculture, never a place within the region.

South-eastern Asia
1st184thNot placed · 40 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on food & agriculture

Laos and the countries it borders

Standing among all 184; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.

CountryStandingProgress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy)Current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicatorsCereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare)Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)Agriculture Orientation IndexAgriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
China6th4.176,4183,5040.95
Vietnam59th3.145,9953,015—
Myanmar91st3.143,7962,869—
Thailand=95th2.863,0722,8150.54
Laos99th3.294,1022,566—
Cambodia113th2.573,722——

“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is

Placed either side on food & agriculture

The countries immediately above and below Laos in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where Laos is ahead of the world, and behind

27 more statistics filed under food & agriculture, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median5

Statistics on which Laos does better than the middle country measured.

  • Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.06183.17▲ Improved since 2012

    Laos: 183.17 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.

    Position 6th of 194 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Vegetable Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 102.69201.53No real change since 2013

    Laos: 201.53 · world median 102.69 · Vegetables available as food (kg per person per year). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 6.89 to 412.72; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Fruit Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 84.83132.78▲ Improved since 2013

    Laos: 132.78 · world median 84.83 · Fruit available as food, excluding wine (kg per person per year). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 4.27 to 379.63; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.08114.84▲ Improved since 2012

    Laos: 114.84 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.

    Position 61st of 195 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.23113.65▲ Improved since 2012

    Laos: 113.65 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.

    Position 66th of 195 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

Behind the world median6

Statistics on which Laos does worse than the middle country measured.

  • Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2024 · world median 4.95.5▲ Improved since 2019

    Laos: 5.5 · world median 4.9 · Population in severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.6 to 62.9; lower is better.

    Position 53rd of 119 · derived, 1st = worst.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Organic Agricultural AreaFAO · 2024 · world median 0.7250.42▲ Improved since 2014

    Laos: 0.42 · world median 0.725 · Organic share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 86.38; higher is better.

    Position 90th of 150 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Agricultural Emissions IntensityFAO · 2023 · world median 1.5651.99▲ Improved since 2013

    Laos: 1.99 · world median 1.565 · Greenhouse gases from farming per value of agricultural output (kg CO₂eq per international dollar). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 28.2; lower is better.

    Position 73rd of 190 · derived, 1st = worst.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Per Capita Food Supply VariabilityFAO · 2024 · world median 2937▼ Worsened since 2014

    Laos: 37 · world median 29 · Year-to-year variability of the food supply (kcal per person per day). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 4 to 227; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added per WorkerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 6,7421,301No real change since 2015

    Laos: 1,301 · world median 6,742 · Agricultural value added per worker (constant 2015 US$). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 210.77 to 150,632; higher is better.

    Position 130th of 151 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Share of Dietary Energy Supply from Cereals, Roots and TubersFAO · 2022 · world median 4168No real change since 2012

    Laos: 68 · world median 41 · Share of dietary energy supply from cereals, roots and tubers (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 21 to 82; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

No better end16

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.3868.6No real change since 2015

    Laos: 68.6 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.

    Position 6th of 182 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1495.92No real change since 2012

    Laos: 95.92 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.

    Position 6th of 171 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5351.86Moved since 2013

    Laos: 1.86 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.

    Position 23rd of 188 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Agricultural Irrigated LandFAO · 2023 · world median 3.6619.28No earlier reading

    Laos: 19.28 · world median 3.66 · Irrigated share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 89.04.

    Position 16th of 121 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Fish and Seafood Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 16.1728.52Moved since 2013

    Laos: 28.52 · world median 16.17 · Fish and seafood available as food (kg per person per year, live-weight equivalent). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.38 to 83.81.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 6.57216.62No real change since 2015

    Laos: 16.62 · world median 6.572 · Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.025 to 47.59.

    Position 35th of 158 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Fisheries and Aquaculture ProductionFAO · 2024 · world median 52,375232,299Moved since 2014

    Laos: 232,299 · world median 52,375 · Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals caught or farmed, tonnes (live weight). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 70,500,841.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.16Moved since 2013

    Laos: 0.16 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.

    Position 78th of 206 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,63512,480Moved since 2013

    Laos: 12,480 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.

    Position 83rd of 193 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,2781,062,711No real change since 2013

    Laos: 1,062,711 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.

    Position 78th of 179 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Cropland Nitrogen BalanceFAO · 2023 · world median 37.6338.13Moved since 2013

    Laos: 38.13 · world median 37.63 · Nitrogen surplus (+) or deficit (−) on cropland, kg per hectare. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from -555.52 to 1,199.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.3677.41Moved since 2013

    Laos: 77.41 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.

    Position 99th of 188 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Meat Supply per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 57.8331.08Moved since 2013

    Laos: 31.08 · world median 57.83 · Meat available as food (kg per person per year, carcass weight). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 3.49 to 156.95.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Cereal Import Dependency RatioFAO · 2022 · world median 42.8-0.3No real change since 2012

    Laos: -0.3 · world median 42.8 · Share of the cereal supply that is imported (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.

    Published values in that edition run from -1,894 to 100.

    Chart and every countryThe 2022 dataset

  • Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.969.91No real change since 2013

    Laos: 9.91 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.

    Position 178th of 209 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.730.12Moved since 2014

    Laos: 0.12 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.

    Position 165th of 178 · derived, counted from the highest value.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

No current reading for Laos

Agriculture Orientation Index (last 2023), Global Report on Food Crises, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Prevalence of Undernourishment and Women's Share of Agricultural Landowners. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing

06The top of the list

Who leads on food & agriculture

The three countries placed highest of 184, and the leaders Laos can most readily be measured against.

All 184 countries
  1. 1

    Serbia

    Southern Europe

    1st of 184 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: Lošmi derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Austria

    Western Europe

    2nd of 184 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Malta

    Southern Europe

    3rd of 184 · 3 of 4 keys

    Photo: Dirk Heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Asia

    Japan5th2/4 keys
  2. Highest in South-eastern Asia

    Singapore8th2/4 keys
  3. This page

    Laos99th3/4 keys

Positions out of 184 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

07Questions

Laos on food & agriculture: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does Laos rank on food & agriculture?

Laos is placed 99th of 184 countries on Food & Agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy), Cereal Yield and Dietary Energy Supply). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) figure for Laos?

3.29 in 2024 (current status score, from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), averaged over up to seven sub-indicators), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3.14.

What is the latest Cereal Yield figure for Laos?

4,102 in 2023 (cereal yield (kg per hectare)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3,072.

How does Laos compare with China on food & agriculture?

China is placed 6th of 184, and Laos 99th. Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy): China 4.17, Laos 3.29; Cereal Yield: China 6,418, Laos 4,102; Dietary Energy Supply: China 3,504, Laos 2,566.

How have Laos’s food & agriculture figures changed?

Progress Toward Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2.4.1 Proxy) rose from 3.14 in 2015 to 3.29 in 2024; Cereal Yield rose from 3,018 in 2000 to 4,102 in 2023; Dietary Energy Supply rose from 2,137 in 2001 to 2,566 in 2024; Agriculture Orientation Index rose from 0.05 in 2001 to 0.11 in 2023.

Which food & agriculture statistics are missing for Laos?

No current reading is published for Laos on Agriculture Orientation Index, Global Report on Food Crises, Legal Guarantees of Women's Equal Rights to Land, Prevalence of Undernourishment and Women's Share of Agricultural Landowners. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

08Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

This subject is about production and land use, not about whether people are fed. Hunger, undernourishment and what a population actually eats are measured under Health & Wellbeing, and the two regularly disagree — a country can grow a great deal and still leave many people short, and one that grows little can be well fed by trade. The wider environmental cost of farming — emissions, water withdrawal, forest cover — is filed under Environment & Sustainability.

About food & agriculture, in full

How the Food & Agriculture standing is decided

A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 4 keys to be placed.

The food & agriculture method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built

The key statistics and their licences

The other 27 statistics on this page come from 3 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

Laos’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Laos: Food & Agriculture — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/laos/food

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