Democracy in Laos
Laos: Democracy was 1 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
90th
of 175 countries
All-time high
2
in 1945
All-time low
0
in 1959
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Democracy in Laos, 1900–2025
Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Laos stood at 1.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Laos peaked at 2 in 1945 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1959.
Laos ranks 90th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Democracy in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 1 | — |
| 1901 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1946 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1950 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1952 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1960 | 0 | — |
| 1961 | 0 | — |
| 1962 | 0 | — |
| 1963 | 0 | — |
| 1964 | 0 | — |
| 1965 | 0 | — |
| 1966 | 1 | — |
| 1967 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 1 | — |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1 | +0.0% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 1 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 1 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.7 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 90 Albania 1 compare
- 90 Algeria 1 compare
- 90 Angola 1 compare
- 90 Azerbaijan 1 compare
- 90 Bahrain 1 compare
- 90 Bangladesh 1 compare
- 90 Burundi 1 compare
- 90 Cameroon 1 compare
- 90 Chad 1 compare
- 90 China 1 compare
- 90 Comoros 1 compare
- 90 Congo 1 compare
- 90 Cuba 1 compare
- 90 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
- 90 Djibouti 1 compare
- 90 Egypt 1 compare
- 90 Equatorial Guinea 1 compare
- 90 Eritrea 1 compare
- 90 Eswatini 1 compare
- 90 Ethiopia 1 compare
- 90 Gabon 1 compare
- 90 Iran 1 compare
- 90 Iraq 1 compare
- 90 Jordan 1 compare
- 90 Kazakhstan 1 compare
- 90 Lebanon 1 compare
- 90 Malaysia 1 compare
- 90 Mongolia 1 compare
- 90 Morocco 1 compare
- 90 Nigeria 1 compare
- 90 North Korea 1 compare
- 90 Oman 1 compare
- 90 Palestine 1 compare
- 90 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 90 Qatar 1 compare
- 90 Russia 1 compare
- 90 Rwanda 1 compare
- 90 Saudi Arabia 1 compare
- 90 Sierra Leone 1 compare
- 90 Singapore 1 compare
- 90 Somalia 1 compare
- 90 South Sudan 1 compare
- 90 Sudan 1 compare
- 90 Syria 1 compare
- 90 Tajikistan 1 compare
- 90 Tanzania 1 compare
- 90 Turkey 1 compare
- 90 Turkmenistan 1 compare
- 90 Uganda 1 compare
- 90 United Arab Emirates 1 compare
- 90 Uzbekistan 1 compare
- 90 Venezuela 1 compare
- 90 Vietnam 1 compare
- 90 Yemen 1 compare
- 90 Zimbabwe 1 compare
More reference data data for Laos
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6615 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.913 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3021 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.64 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Laos?
- Democracy in Laos was 1 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1945.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1959.
- How does Laos rank for democracy?
- Laos ranks 90th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Political regime of a country using the classification by the Episodes of Regime Transformation-project. It distinguishes between hardening autocracies (score 0), stable autocracies (score 1), liberalizing autocracies (score 2), eroding democracies (score 3), stable democracies (score 4), and deepening democracies (score 5).