Laos vs Vietnam
Laos vs Vietnam: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 88.8% of GDP in Laos and 30.5% of GDP in Vietnam, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Laos, by 58.3 percentage points, or 2.91 times that in Vietnam.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Laos has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2001.
- In 2025, Laos ranked 24 and Vietnam ranked 126 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Laos at 52.1% of GDP and Vietnam at 24.5% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Laos | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 88.8 | 30.5 |
| 2024 | 99.2 | 31.2 |
| 2023 | 108.8 | 34.3 |
| 2022 | 115.7 | 34.9 |
| 2021 | 92.2 | 39.2 |
| 2020 | 75.4 | 41.3 |
| 2019 | 69.1 | 41 |
| 2018 | 60.6 | 43.8 |
| 2017 | 57.2 | 46.6 |
| 2016 | 54.5 | 47.9 |
| 2015 | 53.1 | 46.1 |
| 2014 | 53.5 | 43.4 |
| 2013 | 49.5 | 41.4 |
| 2012 | 46.1 | 38.3 |
| 2011 | 43 | 36.2 |
| 2010 | 49.3 | 37.3 |
| 2009 | 51.8 | 36.2 |
| 2008 | 51.7 | 31.1 |
| 2007 | 55.9 | 32.2 |
| 2006 | 60 | 30.3 |
| 2005 | 73.2 | 28.7 |
| 2004 | 80.7 | 29.4 |
| 2003 | 90.2 | 29.8 |
| 2002 | 95.3 | 27.7 |
| 2001 | 94.7 | 25.4 |
| 2000 | – | 24.8 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Laos | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 79.8 | 28.3 |
| 2027 | 71.9 | 26.2 |
| 2028 | 66.5 | 25.3 |
| 2029 | 61.8 | 24.6 |
| 2030 | 57.5 | 24.4 |
| 2031 | 52.1 | 24.5 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Laos vs Vietnam
Health
- Life expectancyLaos: 69 years in 2023Vietnam: 74.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityLaos: 2.9 per 100 live births in 2024Vietnam: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityLaos: 31.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023Vietnam: 15.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterLaos: 17.9% in 2022Vietnam: 57.8% in 2022
- DepressionLaos: 2.91% in 2017Vietnam: 2.88% in 2017
- Suicide rateLaos: 8.4 per 100,000 people in 2017Vietnam: 7.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationLaos: 7.67 million people in 2023Vietnam: 100 million people in 2023
- Population growthLaos: 1.38% a year in 2023Vietnam: 0.64% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateLaos: 2.42 births per woman in 2023Vietnam: 1.91 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationLaos: 40.3% in 2025Vietnam: 38.8% in 2025
- Median ageLaos: 24.3 years in 2023Vietnam: 32.4 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overLaos: 4.5% in 2023Vietnam: 8.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateLaos: -1.3 per 1,000 people in 2023Vietnam: -0.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingLaos: 0.19% of GDP in 2013Vietnam: 2.15% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsLaos: $21.8M in 2013Vietnam: $10.9B in 2025
- Military spending per personLaos: $3 in 2013Vietnam: $104 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingLaos: 0.8% of government spending in 2013Vietnam: 9.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelLaos: 129,000 people in 2020Vietnam: 522,000 people in 2020
- National powerLaos: 0.06% of world capability in 2022Vietnam: 1.11% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersLaos: 4.08% of the labour force in 2020Vietnam: 0.95% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsLaos: 7 million TIV in 2024Vietnam: 177 million TIV in 2025