Education spending in Laos
Laos: Education spending was 1.23 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Education spending in Laos, 1992–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, education spending in Laos stood at 1.23. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 15.5% on the previous year and down 61.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in Laos peaked at 3.23 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 1.23, in 2023.
That places Laos 193rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Education spending in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 2.33 | — |
| 1996 | 2.43 | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 2.13 | -12.3% |
| 2000 | 1.5 | -29.4% |
| 2001 | 1.99 | +32.4% |
| 2002 | 2.83 | +42.0% |
| 2004 | 2.41 | -14.6% |
| 2005 | 2.41 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.96 | +22.6% |
| 2007 | 3.08 | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 2.28 | -26.0% |
| 2009 | 1.65 | -27.4% |
| 2010 | 1.71 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 1.71 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 1.82 | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 3.23 | +77.5% |
| 2014 | 2.94 | -9.2% |
| 2015 | 2.74 | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 2.77 | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 2.5 | -10.0% |
| 2018 | 2.34 | -6.5% |
| 2019 | 2.12 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 1.92 | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 1.86 | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 1.46 | -21.4% |
| 2023 | 1.23 | -15.5% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 1.23 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.02, 31% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 1.23 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.25, 29% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in Laos changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +77.5% | 1.82 | 3.23 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.3 | 2.13 | 2.43 | 3 |
| 2000s | 2.35 | 1.5 | 3.08 | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.39 | 1.71 | 3.23 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.62 | 1.23 | 1.92 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 190 Cayman Islands 1.57 compare
- 191 South Sudan 1.57 compare
- 192 Indonesia 1.28 compare
- 194 Lebanon 1.22 compare
- 195 Haiti 0.9646 compare
- 196 Papua New Guinea 0.7821 compare
More education data for Laos
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 89.6 (2025)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 89.64 (2025)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 35,584 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,396 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 116,303 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 115,863 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 532,092 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 739,554 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0716 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in Laos?
- Education spending in Laos was 1.23 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 3.23 in 2013.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.23 in 2023.
- How does Laos rank for education spending?
- Laos ranks 193rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is education spending rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 61.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).