Urban area over the long-term in Laos

Laos: Urban area over the long-term was 201.75 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
201.75 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 2.9%
World rank
154th
of 202 countries
All-time high
201.75 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0001 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Urban area over the long-term in Laos, 1000–2025

050100150200100015122025

Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in km² per grid cell.

Analysis

The most recent figure for urban area over the long-term in Laos is 201.75 km² per grid cell, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 36.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Laos peaked at 201.75 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0001 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

Laos ranks 154th of 202 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0008 km² per grid cell 0.0008 km² per grid cell 0.0008 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0025 km² per grid cell 0.0025 km² per grid cell 0.0025 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0082 km² per grid cell 0.0082 km² per grid cell 0.0082 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.0267 km² per grid cell 0.0267 km² per grid cell 0.0267 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.1001 km² per grid cell 0.1001 km² per grid cell 0.1001 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 0.3603 km² per grid cell 0.3603 km² per grid cell 0.3603 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 0.3551 km² per grid cell 0.3551 km² per grid cell 0.3551 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 0.4124 km² per grid cell 0.4124 km² per grid cell 0.4124 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 0.479 km² per grid cell 0.479 km² per grid cell 0.479 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 0.5561 km² per grid cell 0.5561 km² per grid cell 0.5561 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 0.6454 km² per grid cell 0.6454 km² per grid cell 0.6454 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 0.749 km² per grid cell 0.749 km² per grid cell 0.749 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 0.8689 km² per grid cell 0.8689 km² per grid cell 0.8689 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 1.01 km² per grid cell 1.01 km² per grid cell 1.01 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 1.36 km² per grid cell 1.36 km² per grid cell 1.36 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 1.73 km² per grid cell 1.73 km² per grid cell 1.73 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 2.17 km² per grid cell 2.17 km² per grid cell 2.17 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 2.72 km² per grid cell 2.72 km² per grid cell 2.72 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 3.37 km² per grid cell 3.37 km² per grid cell 3.37 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 4.15 km² per grid cell 4.15 km² per grid cell 4.15 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 5.09 km² per grid cell 5.09 km² per grid cell 5.09 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 6.21 km² per grid cell 6.21 km² per grid cell 6.21 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 7.55 km² per grid cell 7.55 km² per grid cell 7.55 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 9.14 km² per grid cell 9.14 km² per grid cell 9.14 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 11.01 km² per grid cell 11.01 km² per grid cell 11.01 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 12.26 km² per grid cell 12.26 km² per grid cell 12.26 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 14.27 km² per grid cell 14.27 km² per grid cell 14.27 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 16.26 km² per grid cell 16.26 km² per grid cell 16.26 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 17.82 km² per grid cell 17.82 km² per grid cell 17.82 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 19.96 km² per grid cell 18.5 km² per grid cell 21.28 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 23.06 km² per grid cell 21.55 km² per grid cell 25.7 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 30.39 km² per grid cell 26.68 km² per grid cell 32.82 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 38.05 km² per grid cell 33.38 km² per grid cell 43.86 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 55.51 km² per grid cell 45.43 km² per grid cell 69.97 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 95.09 km² per grid cell 74.16 km² per grid cell 117.85 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 145.75 km² per grid cell 123.57 km² per grid cell 169.24 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 188.14 km² per grid cell 174.88 km² per grid cell 201.75 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Laos

  1. 151 Brunei 244.05 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 152 Guinea-Bissau 240.36 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 153 Reunion 217.46 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 155 Bahamas 171.55 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 156 Papua New Guinea 168.91 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 157 Eritrea 155.22 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Laos

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Laos?
Urban area over the long-term in Laos was 201.75 km² per grid cell in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest urban area over the long-term recorded in Laos?
The highest recorded value was 201.75 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Laos?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0001 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Laos rank for urban area over the long-term?
Laos ranks 154th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Laos?
Over the last ten years it is up 36.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Laos data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Urban area over the long-term
Unit
km² per grid cell
Source
HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
202 places, 21,816 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Total built-up area of a country over time.