8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Asia / South-Eastern Asia

Born in Laos

About 1 in 810 people born in 2023 started life in Laos. A boy can expect to live 67 years and a girl 71, up from 38 and 40 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 93% have basic drinking water.

1 in 810
odds of being born here
163,000 births · Ranked 94th of 230
67 / 71
years of life, boys / girls
Was 38 / 40 in 1950
$2,805
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 150th of 203 · extrapolated
39%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 30 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 311 in every 1,000 births to 39.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth66.8 years for boys, 71.3 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 538.9 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year48,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.3World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles69%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.4%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year132 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year0 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.3 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.4.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.42UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth26.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 43 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2024
8%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
21%Fourth
43%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,805 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth43% / 8% (2024)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.2% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises31.2% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming69% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed77% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment54% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Vientiane, with 840,940 people.

39%
live in cities
97%
have electricity at home
93%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Vientiane840,940
Savannakhet125,760
Thakhèk90,800
Pakse77,900
Ban Khoan65,348
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Lao69%
Hmong Njua3%
Lao is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Vientiane Prefecture840,940
Savannakhet Province166,553
Khammouane Province90,800
Bokeo80,848
Champasak Province77,900
Houaphan56,900
Luang Prabang Province55,027
Bolikhamsai40,321
Xiangkhoang37,507
Oudômxai25,000

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 14 regions
  • Vientiane Prefecture840,940
  • Savannakhet Province166,553
  • Khammouane Province90,800
  • Bokeo80,848
  • Champasak Province77,900
  • Houaphan56,900
  • Luang Prabang Province55,027
  • Bolikhamsai40,321
  • Xiangkhoang37,507
  • Oudômxai25,000
  • Vientiane25,000
  • Loungnamtha23,500
  • Salavan Province21,304
  • Xékong20,116

People on the move

About 8.5% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Thailand, United States, Bangladesh.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Thailand285,819
United States176,588
Bangladesh118,769
Residents born abroad0.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 8.5% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostThailand (285,819), United States (176,588), Bangladesh (118,769)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $473.0 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

7% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 31%.

7%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
31%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2021)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024671Our World in Data, from WHO
Hurricane-strength storms since 19804NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence358 between 1989 and 2006UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Laos, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Laos

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences