Share of land area that is protected in Laos
Laos: Share of land area that is protected was 18.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Laos, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total land area.
Analysis
Laos recorded 18.8% for share of land area that is protected in 2025.
That represents a change of up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Laos peaked at 19.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 2013.
Laos ranks 95th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16.7% | — |
| 2014 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 18.7% | +12.0% |
| 2021 | 18.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 18.7% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19.0% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 18.8% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 18.8% | +0.0% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 18.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.8%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 18.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8%, 1.2× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.7% | 16.7% | 16.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 18.8% | 18.7% | 19.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 92 United Arab Emirates 19.2% compare
- 93 Pakistan 19.1% compare
- 94 Equatorial Guinea 19.0% compare
- 95 Latvia 18.8% compare
- 97 Saudi Arabia 18.5% compare
- 98 Thailand 18.4% 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 share of land area that is protected in Laos?
- Share of land area that is protected in Laos was 18.8% in 2025, according to Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area that is protected recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 2013.
- How does Laos rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Laos ranks 95th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area that is protected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Terrestrial protected areas are areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities in order to preserve their ecosystem services and cultural values.