Laos - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Laos. Landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 112 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Laos
| Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Map references | Southeast Asia |
| Tarrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Natural Resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Natural Hazards | floods, droughts |
| Irrigated Land | 4,410 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | Mènam Khong (Mekong) (shared with China [s], Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 5,274 km |
| Border Countries | Burma 238 km; Cambodia 555 km; China 475 km; Thailand 1,845 km; Vietnam 2,161 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 230,800 sq km |
| Water Area | 6,000 sq km |
| comparative Area | about twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly larger than Utah |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Phu Bia 2,817 m |
| Lowest point | Mekong River 70 m |
| Mean elevation | 710 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 9.9% (2023 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 5.3% (2023 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 1.7% (2023 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 2.9% (2023 est.) |
| Forest | 56.8% (2023 est.) |
| Other | 33.3% (2023 est.) |
Population Distribution
Most densely populated area is in and around the capital city of Vientiane; large communities are primarily found along the Mekong River along the southwestern border; overall density is considered one of the lowest in Southeast Asia
People and Society
In Laos, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Lao 53.2%, Khmou 11%, Hmong 9.2%, Phouthay 3.4%, Tai 3.1%, Makong 2.5%, Katong 2.2%, Lue 2%, Akha 1.8%, other 11.6% (2015 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 1.22% (2025 est.) |
| Birth rate | 19.22 births/1,000 population (2025 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.07 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 1.3 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.19 children born/woman (2025 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.07 (2025 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 61.6% (2017 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | -0.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.) |
| Nationality | Lao or Laotian | Lao(s) or Laotian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Buddhist 64.7%, Christian 1.7%, none 31.4%, other/not stated 2.1% (2015 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 30.1% (male 1,214,429/female 1,181,845) |
| 15-64 years | 65% (male 2,573,668/female 2,599,957) |
| 65 years and over | 4.8% (2024 est.) (male 178,223/female 205,434) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 53.7 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 46.3 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 7.4 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 13.5 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 25.8 years (2025 est.) |
| Male | 25 years |
| Female | 25.7 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 38.2% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 2.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 721,000 VIENTIANE (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.99 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.87 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 34.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) |
| Male | 39.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 31.6 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 69 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 67.4 years |
| Female | 70.7 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 97.1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 78.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 85.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 2.9% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 21.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 14.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 72% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 82.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 28% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 17.5% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 8.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 3.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 4.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 24.1% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 41% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 7.2% (2025 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 7.1% (2017) |
| Women married by age 18 | 32.7% (2017) |
| Men married by age 18 | 10.8% (2017) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Laos
Want to know more about Laos? Check all different factbooks for Laos below.
