Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos

Laos: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 89.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
89.6%
Change on year
down 0.0%
World rank
156th
of 209 countries
All-time high
96.0%
in 2014
All-time low
56.4%
in 1992
Years of data
35
1988–2025

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos, 1988–2025

0204060801001988200620251988: 64.3 %1990: 63.7 %1992: 56.4 %1993: 61.2 %1994: 65 %1996: 67.4 %1997: 70 %1998: 73.4 %1999: 74.1 %2000: 75 %2001: 74.4 %2002: 75.8 %2003: 78.5 %2004: 78.8 %2005: 79.4 %2006: 80 %2007: 82.5 %2008: 84.7 %2009: 87 %2010: 91.7 %2011: 92 %2012: 92.5 %2013: 95 %2014: 96 %2015: 95.2 %2016: 94.7 %2017: 93.7 %2018: 93.2 %2019: 93.3 %2020: 93.1 %2021: 93 %2022: 90.6 %2023: 90.5 %2024: 89.7 %2025: 89.6 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2025, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos stood at 89.6%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos peaked at 96.0% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 56.4%, in 1992.

Laos ranks 156th of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 64.3% 64.3% 64.3% 1
1990s 66.4% 56.4% 74.1% 8
2000s 79.6% 74.4% 87.0% 10
2010s 93.8% 91.7% 96.0% 10
2020s 91.1% 89.6% 93.1% 6

Countries ranked near Laos

  1. 153 Reunion 90.7% compare
  2. 154 Palestine 90.4% compare
  3. 155 Benin 90.4% compare
  4. 157 Bhutan 89.5% compare
  5. 158 Zimbabwe 89.5% compare
  6. 159 Belize 89.3% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Laos

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Laos was 89.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Laos?
The highest recorded value was 96.0% in 2014.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Laos?
The lowest recorded value was 56.4% in 1992.
How does Laos rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Laos ranks 156th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Laos?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Laos data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
209 places, 8,478 data points, 1820–2025
Last refreshed

The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.