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Photo: Tango7174 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Laos: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Laos is placed 52nd of 182 countries on work & labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Employment-to-Population Ratio 65.3 (2025); Labour Income Share 48.7 (2025).
Work & Labour
52nd
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Laos on work & labour — 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 in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Employment-to-Population Ratio
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much of the working-age population is actually in work — the half of the picture unemployment hides, because people who stop looking stop being counted.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
65.3
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Laos: 65.3. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 21.21 (São Tomé and Príncipe) to 86.9 (Qatar); the world median is 57.72.
- World median
- 57.72
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 82.17 Cambodia
- Land neighbours
- China 61.57 · Cambodia 82.17 · Myanmar 53.41 · Thailand 66.16 · Vietnam 71.67
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Unemployment Rate
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: The share of people looking for work who cannot find it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
1.187
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Laos: 1.187. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.13 (Qatar) to 34.2 (Eswatini); the world median is 5.084.
- World median
- 5.084
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 0.263 Cambodia
- Land neighbours
- China 4.615 · Cambodia 0.263 · Myanmar 3.047 · Thailand 0.781 · Vietnam 1.523
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Vulnerable Employment
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much work is own-account or unpaid family labour, carrying no contract and no protection.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
76.38
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Laos: 76.38. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.456 (Qatar) to 90.22 (Chad); the world median is 28.67.
- World median
- 28.67
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 4.478 Brunei
- Land neighbours
- China 33.4 · Cambodia 52.32 · Myanmar 62.89 · Thailand 47.98 · Vietnam 51.4
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Laos is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Employment-to-Population Ratio
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos rose from 60.51 in 2000 to 65.3 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 65.302 57.720 2024 65.215 57.694 2023 65.208 58.158 2022 65.203 57.688 2021 63.274 56.066 2020 61.434 55.691 2019 60.633 57.871 2018 59.222 56.911 2017 57.829 56.738 2016 58.320 56.845 2015 58.812 56.788 2014 59.098 56.774 2013 59.387 56.229 2012 59.681 56.289 2011 59.966 56.297 2010 60.253 56.212 2009 60.317 56.255 2008 60.370 57.308 2007 60.418 56.933 2006 60.455 56.685 2005 60.498 56.129 2004 60.513 55.465 2003 60.519 55.630 2002 60.520 55.843 2001 60.535 56.018 2000 60.509 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos fell from 48.85 in 2004 to 48.7 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 48.703 46.230 2024 48.519 46.060 2023 48.696 45.900 2022 49.061 45.615 2021 48.328 45.433 2020 48.463 47.267 2019 48.659 46.277 2018 48.511 46.187 2017 48.395 46.467 2016 48.394 46.798 2015 48.363 46.876 2014 48.311 47.281 2013 48.242 46.887 2012 48.262 46.231 2011 48.284 45.679 2010 48.207 46.024 2009 48.455 47.071 2008 48.412 45.312 2007 48.486 45.246 2006 48.293 45.670 2005 48.653 46.265 2004 48.853 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
LaosWorld median
Laos fell from 2.045 in 2000 to 1.187 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 1.187 5.08 2024 1.174 5.15 2023 1.186 5.21 2022 1.209 5.34 2021 2.080 6.04 2020 2.349 6.38 2019 2.531 5.36 2018 2.897 5.35 2017 3.268 5.59 2016 2.634 5.90 2015 2.006 6.41 2014 1.733 6.58 2013 1.469 6.71 2012 1.208 6.79 2011 0.960 6.90 2010 0.708 7.04 2009 0.835 6.67 2008 0.944 5.79 2007 1.068 6.00 2006 1.199 6.50 2005 1.350 7.09 2004 1.498 6.80 2003 1.639 6.95 2002 1.775 6.91 2001 1.881 6.96 2000 2.045 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
LaosWorld median
Laos fell from 87.54 in 2000 to 76.38 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 76.4 28.67 2024 76.6 29.04 2023 76.9 29.33 2022 77.1 29.67 2021 77.4 30.01 2020 77.8 30.54 2019 78.1 29.98 2018 78.5 30.15 2017 79.0 29.93 2016 79.5 29.91 2015 80.0 30.26 2014 80.4 30.47 2013 80.8 31.14 2012 81.2 31.00 2011 81.8 31.41 2010 82.4 32.37 2009 83.0 32.59 2008 83.5 31.76 2007 83.9 33.47 2006 84.3 34.27 2005 84.9 34.66 2004 85.4 35.51 2003 85.9 35.90 2002 86.5 35.96 2001 87.0 35.27 2000 87.5 35.67
03In context
Laos beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 182 countries on work & labour, never a place within the region.
1st182ndNot placed · 42 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Laos and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 182 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Employment-to-Population RatioEmployed share of the population aged 15+ (%) | Labour Income ShareLabour income share of GDP (%) | Unemployment RateUnemployment (% of labour force) | Vulnerable EmploymentVulnerable employment (% of total employment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cambodia | =26th | 82.17 | 46.23 | 0.263 | 52.32 |
 Vietnam | 35th | 71.67 | 47.32 | 1.523 | 51.4 |
 Thailand | =37th | 66.16 | 47.02 | 0.781 | 47.98 |
| Laos | 52nd | 65.3 | 48.7 | 1.187 | 76.38 |
 China | 60th | 61.57 | 51.23 | 4.615 | 33.4 |
 Myanmar | 109th | 53.41 | 48.67 | 3.047 | 62.89 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South-eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Laos in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Laos is ahead of the world, and behind
14 more statistics filed under work & labour, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median4
Statistics on which Laos does better than the middle country measured.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.1650.6919.16No earlier reading
Laos: 50.69 · world median 19.16 · Firms with a female top manager (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.429 to 62.9; higher is better.
Position 2nd of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.832.38412.83▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 2.384 · world median 12.83 · Unemployment, ages 15-24 (% of youth labour force). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.457 to 76.77; lower is better.
Position 175th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3661.5653.36▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 61.56 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.
Position 41st of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6666.0961.66▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 66.09 · world median 61.66 · Population aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.34 to 87.01; higher is better.
Position 52nd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median5
Statistics on which Laos does worse than the middle country measured.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6815.516.68No earlier reading
Laos: 15.5 · world median 16.68 · Employees who are trade union members (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.2 to 91.42; higher is better.
Position 72nd of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Working Poverty RateILO · 2025 · world median 4.88512.134.885▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 12.13 · world median 4.885 · Employed people living in extreme poverty (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.007 to 86.02; lower is better.
GDP per Person EmployedWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 47,38419,36647,384No real change since 2015
Laos: 19,366 · world median 47,384 · GDP per person employed (constant 2021 international $). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2,456 to 262,554; higher is better.
Position 126th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.168.7322.16▼ Worsened since 2015
Laos: 8.73 · world median 22.16 · Output per hour worked (constant 2021 international $ at PPP). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.92 to 164.65; higher is better.
Position 138th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Informal Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 36.8386.5236.83No earlier reading
Laos: 86.52 · world median 36.83 · Informal employment (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.857 to 94.44; lower is better.
Position 13th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end5
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 14.3868.614.38No 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 here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Self-Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 31.8477.1431.84No real change since 2015
Laos: 77.14 · world median 31.84 · Self-employed (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.832 to 91.56.
Position 20th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8941.5238.89No real change since 2015
Laos: 41.52 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 58th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in IndustryILO · 2025 · world median 18.887.41518.88Moved since 2015
Laos: 7.415 · world median 18.88 · Employment in industry (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 3.103 to 39.44.
Position 174th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in ServicesILO · 2025 · world median 59.5123.9959.51No real change since 2015
Laos: 23.99 · world median 59.51 · Employment in services (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.56 to 92.17.
Position 175th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Laos
Fatal Occupational Injuries, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management (last 2022), Public Sector Employment and Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (last 2022). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Laos’s 11 topics
Work & Labour is Laos’s 2nd best-placed topic of 11. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Environment & Sustainability20th of 1613/3 keys
- Work & Labour52nd of 1824/4 keys
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 66th of 1913/3 keys
- Gender & Equality95th of 1783/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital119th of 1943/3 keys
- Peace & Security115th of 1772/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing142nd of 2014/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions140th of 1935/5 keys
- Economy & Innovation119th of 1503/3 keys
- Education & Knowledge159th of 1824/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties182nd of 1983/3 keys
No standing on Mobility & Connectivity: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Laos can most readily be measured against.
1
IcelandNorthern Europe
1st of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
JapanEastern Asia
2nd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
South KoreaEastern Asia
3rd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
Japan2nd4/4 keysHighest in South-eastern Asia
Singapore17th4/4 keysThis page
Laos52nd4/4 keys
Positions out of 182 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.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Laos and work & labour
On work & labour
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Highest Average Salaries in 2024
The ten highest-paying countries of 2024, their bars coloured by continent, and six more added for comparison — from Australia in 13th place to India in 85th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Lowest Average Salaries in 2024
The bottom ten of 196 countries, and six more added for comparison. Niger, Madagascar and Liberia are all published at US$47 a month and still carry three different ranks.
08Questions
Laos on work & labour: 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 work & labour?
Laos is placed 52nd of 182 countries on Work & Labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Employment-to-Population Ratio, Labour Income Share, Unemployment Rate and Vulnerable Employment). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Employment-to-Population Ratio figure for Laos?
65.3 in 2025 (employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 57.72.
What is the latest Labour Income Share figure for Laos?
48.7 in 2025 (labour income share of GDP (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 46.23.
How does Laos compare with China on work & labour?
China is placed 60th of 182, and Laos 52nd. Employment-to-Population Ratio: China 61.57, Laos 65.3; Labour Income Share: China 51.23, Laos 48.7; Unemployment Rate: China 4.615, Laos 1.187; Vulnerable Employment: China 33.4, Laos 76.38.
How have Laos’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio rose from 60.51 in 2000 to 65.3 in 2025; Labour Income Share fell from 48.85 in 2004 to 48.7 in 2025; Unemployment Rate fell from 2.045 in 2000 to 1.187 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 87.54 in 2000 to 76.38 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Laos?
No current reading is published for Laos on Fatal Occupational Injuries, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management, Public Sector Employment and Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Laos, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions140th of 193
- Economy & Innovation119th of 150
- Education & Knowledge159th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing142nd of 201
- Development & Human Capital119th of 194
- Environment & Sustainability20th of 161
- Gender & Equality95th of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties182nd of 198
- Peace & Security115th of 177
- Risk & Resilience=66th of 191
- The full Laos profile
Nearby, on work & labour
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Wages in money terms are not a key here, because pay figures are hard to compare fairly across countries with very different prices. Labour productivity, working hours, youth unemployment and the balance between farming, industry and services are published on this page as context. The size and growth of the wider economy belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Work & Labour standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2025.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 182 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Employment-to-Population Ratio — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Labour Income Share — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Unemployment Rate — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Vulnerable Employment — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
The other 14 statistics on this page come from 2 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.
- Laos (banner) — Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Laos: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/laos/work