Democracy in Laos

Laos: Democracy was 0 in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
0
World rank
147th
of 168 countries
All-time high
1
in 1953
All-time low
0
in 1975
Years of data
66
1953–2018

Democracy in Laos, 1953–2018

00.20.40.60.81195319852018

Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Laos recorded 0 for democracy in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.

Over the whole period, democracy in Laos peaked at 1 in 1953 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1975.

That places Laos 147th out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Democracy in Laos, year by year

Annual values for Democracy in Laos, 1953 to 2018.
Year Value Change
1953 1
1954 1 +0.0%
1955 1 +0.0%
1956 1 +0.0%
1957 1 +0.0%
1958 1 +0.0%
1959 1 +0.0%
1960 1 +0.0%
1961 1 +0.0%
1962 1 +0.0%
1963 1 +0.0%
1964 1 +0.0%
1965 1 +0.0%
1966 1 +0.0%
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 0
1978 0
1979 0
1980 0
1981 0
1982 0
1983 0
1984 0
1985 0
1986 0
1987 0
1988 0
1989 0
1990 0
1991 0
1992 0
1993 0
1994 0
1995 0
1996 0
1997 0
1998 0
1999 0
2000 0
2001 0
2002 0
2003 0
2004 0
2005 0
2006 0
2007 0
2008 0
2009 0
2010 0
2011 0
2012 0
2013 0
2014 0
2015 0
2016 0
2017 0
2018 0

Laos compared with similar countries

  • Laos's 0 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1. (43 countries reporting)
  • Laos's 0 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2. (20 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 1 1 1 7
1960s 1 1 1 10
1970s 0.5 0 1 10
1980s 0 0 0 10
1990s 0 0 0 10
2000s 0 0 0 10
2010s 0 0 0 9

Countries ranked near Laos

  1. 147 Azerbaijan 0 compare
  2. 147 Bahrain 0 compare
  3. 147 Bangladesh 0 compare
  4. 147 Belarus 0 compare
  5. 147 China 0 compare
  6. 147 Equatorial Guinea 0 compare
  7. 147 Eritrea 0
  8. 147 Eswatini 0
  9. 147 Iran 0 compare
  10. 147 Kazakhstan 0 compare
  11. 147 Kuwait 0
  12. 147 North Korea 0
  13. 147 Oman 0
  14. 147 Qatar 0
  15. 147 Saudi Arabia 0
  16. 147 Syria 0 compare
  17. 147 Turkmenistan 0 compare
  18. 147 United Arab Emirates 0
  19. 147 Uzbekistan 0 compare
  20. 147 Vatican 0
  21. 147 Vietnam 0

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for Laos

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Laos?
Democracy in Laos was 0 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Laos?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 1953.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Laos?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1975.
How does Laos rank for democracy?
Laos ranks 147th out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Where does this Laos data come from?
The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Democracy in Laos. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-polity/lao-pdr/

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About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 18,392 data points, 1776–2020
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country using the Polity 5 data by the Center for Systemic Peace. It distinguishes between autocracies (score 0), anocracies (score 1), and democracies (score 2).