Statizoid

Political Civil Liberties Index in Laos

Laos: Political Civil Liberties Index was 0.053 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.053
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
169th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.589
in 1958
All-time low
0.022
in 1976
Years of data
230
1789–2025

Political Civil Liberties Index in Laos, 1789–2025

00.20.40.6178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in Laos is 0.053, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of up 12.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in Laos peaked at 0.589 in 1958 and was at its lowest, 0.022, in 1976.

Laos ranks 169th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Political Civil Liberties Index in Laos, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.16 —
1790 0.16 +0.0%
1791 0.16 +0.0%
1792 0.16 +0.0%
1793 0.16 +0.0%
1794 0.16 +0.0%
1795 0.16 +0.0%
1796 0.16 +0.0%
1797 0.16 +0.0%
1798 0.16 +0.0%
1799 0.16 +0.0%
1800 0.16 +0.0%
1801 0.16 +0.0%
1802 0.16 +0.0%
1803 0.16 +0.0%
1804 0.16 +0.0%
1805 0.16 +0.0%
1806 0.16 +0.0%
1807 0.16 +0.0%
1808 0.16 +0.0%
1809 0.16 +0.0%
1810 0.16 +0.0%
1811 0.16 +0.0%
1812 0.16 +0.0%
1813 0.16 +0.0%
1814 0.16 +0.0%
1815 0.16 +0.0%
1816 0.16 +0.0%
1817 0.16 +0.0%
1818 0.16 +0.0%
1819 0.16 +0.0%
1820 0.16 +0.0%
1821 0.16 +0.0%
1822 0.16 +0.0%
1823 0.16 +0.0%
1824 0.16 +0.0%
1825 0.16 +0.0%
1826 0.16 +0.0%
1827 0.16 +0.0%
1828 0.16 +0.0%
1829 0.16 +0.0%
1830 0.179 +11.9%
1831 0.179 +0.0%
1832 0.179 +0.0%
1833 0.179 +0.0%
1834 0.179 +0.0%
1835 0.179 +0.0%
1836 0.179 +0.0%
1837 0.179 +0.0%
1838 0.179 +0.0%
1839 0.179 +0.0%
1840 0.179 +0.0%
1841 0.179 +0.0%
1842 0.179 +0.0%
1843 0.179 +0.0%
1844 0.179 +0.0%
1845 0.179 +0.0%
1846 0.179 +0.0%
1847 0.179 +0.0%
1848 0.179 +0.0%
1849 0.179 +0.0%
1850 0.179 +0.0%
1851 0.179 +0.0%
1852 0.179 +0.0%
1853 0.179 +0.0%
1854 0.179 +0.0%
1855 0.179 +0.0%
1856 0.179 +0.0%
1857 0.179 +0.0%
1858 0.179 +0.0%
1859 0.179 +0.0%
1860 0.179 +0.0%
1861 0.179 +0.0%
1862 0.179 +0.0%
1863 0.179 +0.0%
1864 0.179 +0.0%
1865 0.179 +0.0%
1866 0.179 +0.0%
1867 0.179 +0.0%
1868 0.179 +0.0%
1869 0.179 +0.0%
1870 0.179 +0.0%
1871 0.179 +0.0%
1872 0.179 +0.0%
1873 0.179 +0.0%
1874 0.179 +0.0%
1875 0.179 +0.0%
1876 0.179 +0.0%
1877 0.179 +0.0%
1878 0.151 -15.6%
1879 0.151 +0.0%
1880 0.139 -7.9%
1881 0.139 +0.0%
1882 0.139 +0.0%
1883 0.139 +0.0%
1884 0.156 +12.2%
1885 0.156 +0.0%
1886 0.156 +0.0%
1887 0.156 +0.0%
1888 0.156 +0.0%
1889 0.156 +0.0%
1890 0.156 +0.0%
1891 0.156 +0.0%
1892 0.156 +0.0%
1900 0.171 +9.6%
1901 0.175 +2.3%
1902 0.175 +0.0%
1903 0.177 +1.1%
1904 0.177 +0.0%
1905 0.177 +0.0%
1906 0.177 +0.0%
1907 0.177 +0.0%
1908 0.177 +0.0%
1909 0.177 +0.0%
1910 0.176 -0.6%
1911 0.176 +0.0%
1912 0.176 +0.0%
1913 0.176 +0.0%
1914 0.179 +1.7%
1915 0.179 +0.0%
1916 0.179 +0.0%
1917 0.179 +0.0%
1918 0.175 -2.2%
1919 0.169 -3.4%
1920 0.169 +0.0%
1921 0.169 +0.0%
1922 0.169 +0.0%
1923 0.169 +0.0%
1924 0.169 +0.0%
1925 0.169 +0.0%
1926 0.169 +0.0%
1927 0.166 -1.8%
1928 0.166 +0.0%
1929 0.166 +0.0%
1930 0.166 +0.0%
1931 0.166 +0.0%
1932 0.166 +0.0%
1933 0.166 +0.0%
1934 0.166 +0.0%
1935 0.166 +0.0%
1936 0.166 +0.0%
1937 0.166 +0.0%
1938 0.166 +0.0%
1939 0.166 +0.0%
1940 0.162 -2.4%
1941 0.164 +1.2%
1942 0.165 +0.6%
1943 0.163 -1.2%
1944 0.176 +8.0%
1945 0.306 +73.9%
1946 0.411 +34.3%
1947 0.462 +12.4%
1948 0.465 +0.6%
1949 0.465 +0.0%
1950 0.469 +0.9%
1951 0.473 +0.9%
1952 0.473 +0.0%
1953 0.51 +7.8%
1954 0.518 +1.6%
1955 0.567 +9.5%
1956 0.567 +0.0%
1957 0.567 +0.0%
1958 0.589 +3.9%
1959 0.538 -8.7%
1960 0.507 -5.8%
1961 0.436 -14.0%
1962 0.454 +4.1%
1963 0.447 -1.5%
1964 0.457 +2.2%
1965 0.456 -0.2%
1966 0.456 +0.0%
1967 0.456 +0.0%
1968 0.456 +0.0%
1969 0.456 +0.0%
1970 0.456 +0.0%
1971 0.456 +0.0%
1972 0.441 -3.3%
1973 0.445 +0.9%
1974 0.428 -3.8%
1975 0.099 -76.9%
1976 0.022 -77.8%
1977 0.022 +0.0%
1978 0.022 +0.0%
1979 0.022 +0.0%
1980 0.022 +0.0%
1981 0.022 +0.0%
1982 0.022 +0.0%
1983 0.022 +0.0%
1984 0.022 +0.0%
1985 0.022 +0.0%
1986 0.024 +9.1%
1987 0.028 +16.7%
1988 0.028 +0.0%
1989 0.028 +0.0%
1990 0.028 +0.0%
1991 0.028 +0.0%
1992 0.028 +0.0%
1993 0.028 +0.0%
1994 0.028 +0.0%
1995 0.028 +0.0%
1996 0.028 +0.0%
1997 0.034 +21.4%
1998 0.034 +0.0%
1999 0.034 +0.0%
2000 0.036 +5.9%
2001 0.036 +0.0%
2002 0.036 +0.0%
2003 0.036 +0.0%
2004 0.036 +0.0%
2005 0.036 +0.0%
2006 0.035 -2.8%
2007 0.035 +0.0%
2008 0.041 +17.1%
2009 0.043 +4.9%
2010 0.048 +11.6%
2011 0.048 +0.0%
2012 0.047 -2.1%
2013 0.054 +14.9%
2014 0.054 +0.0%
2015 0.047 -13.0%
2016 0.047 +0.0%
2017 0.042 -10.6%
2018 0.049 +16.7%
2019 0.056 +14.3%
2020 0.061 +8.9%
2021 0.052 -14.8%
2022 0.042 -19.2%
2023 0.056 +33.3%
2024 0.053 -5.4%
2025 0.053 +0.0%

Laos compared with similar countries

  • Laos's 0.053 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5695, 9% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Laos's 0.053 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.666, 8% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.16 0.16 0.16 1
1790s 0.16 0.16 0.16 10
1800s 0.16 0.16 0.16 10
1810s 0.16 0.16 0.16 10
1820s 0.16 0.16 0.16 10
1830s 0.179 0.179 0.179 10
1840s 0.179 0.179 0.179 10
1850s 0.179 0.179 0.179 10
1860s 0.179 0.179 0.179 10
1870s 0.1734 0.151 0.179 10
1880s 0.1492 0.139 0.156 10
1890s 0.156 0.156 0.156 3
1900s 0.176 0.171 0.177 10
1910s 0.1764 0.169 0.179 10
1920s 0.1681 0.166 0.169 10
1930s 0.166 0.166 0.166 10
1940s 0.2939 0.162 0.465 10
1950s 0.5271 0.469 0.589 10
1960s 0.4581 0.436 0.507 10
1970s 0.2413 0.022 0.456 10
1980s 0.024 0.022 0.028 10
1990s 0.0298 0.028 0.034 10
2000s 0.037 0.035 0.043 10
2010s 0.0492 0.042 0.056 10
2020s 0.0528 0.042 0.061 6

Countries ranked near Laos

  1. 166 Eswatini 0.062 compare
  2. 167 Myanmar 0.058 compare
  3. 168 Turkmenistan 0.054 compare
  4. 170 Cuba 0.037 compare
  5. 171 Belarus 0.036 compare
  6. 171 China 0.036 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Laos

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is political civil liberties index in Laos?
Political civil liberties index in Laos was 0.053 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in Laos?
The highest recorded value was 0.589 in 1958.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in Laos?
The lowest recorded value was 0.022 in 1976.
How does Laos rank for political civil liberties index?
Laos ranks 169th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in Laos?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Laos data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 230 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Political Civil Liberties Index in Laos. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/lao-pdr/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/lao-pdr/">Political Civil Liberties Index in Laos</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Political Civil Liberties Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,211 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people enjoy the freedoms of expression and association.