Country export capability

Laos
export capability

A reported view of Laos's export scale, destination network, sector breadth, trade history, and market-access context. Use the indicators together; no single measure describes export readiness on its own.

LAO1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsEconomy and income contracted
Latest exports$9.3B2024 reported value
Latest imports$9.6B2024 reported value
Trade balance-$355.5MExports minus imports
Export growth+11.6%Latest year-on-year change
Active partners270Latest reported markets

Country export profile overview

Laos export data in one research view

This profile brings together export performance, trade balance, destination markets, HS2 sectors, partner breadth, history, and market-access context for country export research.

Export scale and balance

Start with the latest reported trade position

In 2024, Laos recorded $9.3B in exports and $9.6B in imports. The resulting -$355.5M trade balance gives the latest country-level position a clear context.

Exports changed +11.6% year on year and show a calculated +5.1% three-year CAGR. CAGR is an annualized comparison of reported values, not a forecast.

Markets and sectors

See where export value is concentrated

Thailand received $3.0B in reported exports, representing 32.3% of the latest country total. Mineral fuels was the largest displayed HS2 export sector at $2.6B and 27.7% of exports.

The visible page highlights five leading destinations and five leading HS2 sectors, while the complete structured files retain every row supplied for this sample.

History and coverage

Read today's number against the long series

The country series covers 1995 through 2024, with 30 observed annual rows. That longer view helps separate a single-year movement from the broader export trend.

Partner counts, tariff context, concentration, exposure shares, and momentum are supporting indicators calculated from available trade observations. Missing values remain unavailable rather than estimated.

Economy and structure

The context around Laos's export base

Macroeconomic and structural indicators add context to merchandise trade scale. They describe the country environment; they do not predict company performance or future exports.

GDP$16.5B2024 macro context
GDP per capita$2.1KCurrent-dollar GDP
Population7.8MReported population
Labor force4.2KReported labor force
Investment rate29.4%National investment rate
Savings rate15%National savings rate
Trade openness94.9%Exports + imports / GDP
Exports / GDP46.6%Merchandise exports / GDP
Secondary education51.6%Education context
Tertiary education9.9%Education context

Market signals

Where to look more closely next

Route-level risk and emerging-corridor signals for further research. These are calculated indicators, not forecasts.

Destination risk contextAll covered routes
Destination risk context for Laos
DestinationAttentionAttention shareBelow peakApplied tariffPrimary reason
ThailandTHACritical attention99%11.8%27.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
Viet NamVNMHigh attention85.4%33.7%15.2%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
ChinaCHNHigh attention53.2%19.8%28.6%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
JapanJPNHigh attention62.1%29.2%1.5%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSAHigh attention99.6%3.1%4.5%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
CambodiaKHMHigh attention99.1%0.2%16%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
GermanyDEUHigh attention90.8%8.3%0.9%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
MexicoMEXHigh attention78.1%9.8%13.6%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
Republic of KoreaKORHigh attention82.7%4.7%13.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
DenmarkDNKHigh attention83.8%16.3%1%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction

Full route coverage is retained. High attention means the route deserves closer product and access review.

Market opportunity signals

Product-market combinations worth investigating

All returned rows use buyer demand, exporter position, and calculated addressable-value fields. They are research signals, not forecasts.

Addressable-value signalsAll returned rows
Market opportunity signals for Laos
RankMarket and productBuyer importsAddressable 3-year valueCurrent shareDemand signal
1ChinaHS6 260111 · Iron ores and concentrates: non-agglomerated$111.0B$118.6B0.3%Growing -2.6%
2ChinaHS6 854231 · Electronic integrated circuits: processors and controllers, whether or not combined with memories, converters, logic circuits, amplifiers, clock and timing circuits, or other circuits$158.0B$93.1B0%Declining +10.5%
3ChinaHS6 854232 · Electronic integrated circuits: memories$80.6B$65.7B0%Declining +20.6%
4ChinaHS6 710812 · Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$80.8B$64.8B0.1%Accelerating +2.4%
5ChinaHS6 120190 · Soya beans: other than seed, whether or not broken$47.8B$62.4B0%Growing -13.5%
6ChinaHS6 854239 · Electronic integrated circuits: n.e.c. in heading no. 8542$81.8B$61.4B0%Declining +4%
7USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsHS6 851712 · Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks$53.9B$53.8B0%Stable -8.8%
8USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsHS6 847150 · Digital processing units: other than those of subheadings 8471.41 or 8471.49, whether or not containing in the same housing one or two of the following types of unit: storage units, input units or output units$53.9B$45.6B0%Declining +60.2%

Addressable value is a calculated field. Validate product, buyer, tariff, and route conditions before commercial decisions.

Detailed export portfolioHS4 lines beneath the leading sectorsOpen the detailed four-digit export table for Laos.
All HS4 export lines2024 ranking
Top HS4 export lines for Laos
RankHS4Parent HS2 sectorExportsShareActive HS6
12716HS4 detail codeMineral fuels (27) ↗$2.5B27.1%1
23104HS4 detail codeFertilisers (31) ↗$799.8M8.6%3
37108HS4 detail codePrecious stones and metals (71) ↗$474.2M5.1%3
48517HS4 detail codeElectrical machinery (85) ↗$348.1M3.7%7
58541HS4 detail codeElectrical machinery (85) ↗$348.0M3.7%7
62601HS4 detail codeOres, slag and ash (26) ↗$335.2M3.6%2
72603HS4 detail codeOres, slag and ash (26) ↗$295.2M3.2%1
84001HS4 detail codeRubber (40) ↗$259.8M2.8%5
94805HS4 detail codePaper and paperboard (48) ↗$258.6M2.8%11
100714HS4 detail codeVegetables (07) ↗$256.0M2.8%5
112846HS4 detail codeInorganic chemicals (28) ↗$251.3M2.7%1
124002HS4 detail codeRubber (40) ↗$186.3M2%8

HS4 values are reported observations. The hierarchy is preserved; no missing descriptions are inferred.

The country export read

Laos combines $9.3B in exports with a broad partner network.

In 2024, Laos recorded $9.3B in reported exports and $9.6B in imports, producing a reported trade deficit of $355.5M. Exports changed +11.6% year on year and +5.1% annualized over three years. Mineral fuels (HS2 27) was the largest displayed export sector by value.

Destination network

Where Laos exports move

All returned destination lanes ranked by latest reported export value. Share is calculated against the country total. Review sources ↗

Latest reported destination lanesAll returned · 2024
Leading export destinations for Laos
RankDestinationLatest exportsShareYear-on-year3-year CAGR
1ThailandTHA$3.0B32.3%+52.1%+1.6%
2ChinaCHN$2.9B30.8%-10.8%+4.8%
3Viet NamVNM$825.2M8.9%-22.1%-4.9%
4USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$747.8M8.1%+173.8%+63.9%
5AustraliaAUS$266.9M2.9%-27%-9.2%
6GermanyDEU$247.3M2.7%+69.2%+33.4%
7CambodiaKHM$234.8M2.5%+90.6%+18.1%
8JapanJPN$128.4M1.4%-12.6%+4.1%
9Switzerland, LiechtensteinCHE$122.5M1.3%+71.7%-10.3%
10MexicoMEX$105.8M1.1%+1.4%+10%

Destination values are reported country-to-country observations. Full returned rows remain in the downloads.

Trade history

A long view of export scale

Latest twelve years from the 30-year reported country series. Context, not a forecast.

Reported exports by year

2013
$4.6B
2014
$4.5B
2015
$4.2B
2016
$3.9B
2017
$5.0B
2018
$5.8B
2019
$6.0B
2020
$5.9B
2021
$8.0B
2022
$9.9B
2023
$8.3B
2024
$9.3B

Partner network

Scale is only one part of export capability

Partner breadth, distance, agreements, and tariffs add context to reported exports.

FTA partner markets19Reported count
WTO partner markets169Reported count
EU partner markets28Reported count
Shared-border partners6Country context
Shared-language partners0Country context
Average partner distance9,210 kmCalculated average
Partners with FTA7%Calculated share
Applied tariff context0.1%Calculated average
MFN tariff context0.1%Calculated average
Tariff advantage+0.1 ppPreferential vs MFN

Exposure context

Signals to examine alongside export scale

Calculated or classified route and country context. Not predictions or recommendations.

Attention share76.5%

Covered value under attention

Critical share6.5%

Covered value marked critical

Below historical peak16.2%

Distance below route peaks

FTA-covered exports82.7%

Covered value with FTA context

Weighted tariff context0.2%

Export-weighted tariff

Macro contextEconomy and income contracted

Primary attention driver: High trade volatility.

Momentum score9.6

History-based indicator

Partner concentration2,163

Partner HHI

Product concentration929.3

Product HHI

Country attention level: High attention. Missing fields remain unavailable.

Complete country valuesOpen the full profile evidenceFull history, sectors, HS4, destinations, risk, opportunities, and source fields.

Profile fields

Year2,024
Country Iso3LAO
Exports Usd$9.3B
Imports Usd$9.6B
Trade Balance Usd-$355.5M
Yoy Exports Growth Pct11.6%
Yoy Imports Growth Pct11.3%
Exports Cagr 3y Pct5.1%
Imports Cagr 3y Pct13.6%
Export Partner Hhi2,163
Export Product Hhi929.3
Momentum Score9.6
Risk Score15.5
Gdp Million Usd16,502.93 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Usd$2.1K
Population7,769,819
Labor Force4,187.2
Investment Rate Pct29.4%
Savings Rate Pct15%
Secondary Education Pct51.6%
Tertiary Education Pct9.9%
Total Factor Productivity301.6
Trade Openness Pct94.9%
Exports Gdp Pct46.6%
Num Active Partners270
Num Fta Partners19
Num Wto Partners169
Num Eu Partners28
Num Shared Border Partners6
Num Shared Language Partners0
Avg Partner Distance Km9,210 km
Avg Partner Gdp Million Usd533,678,518.33 million USD
Avg Partner Gdp Per Capita Usd$15.8
Avg Buyer Biz Entry DaysNot reported
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Cost PctNot reported
Pct Partners With Fta7
Pct Partners Shared Language0
Pct Partners Shared Border2
Avg Applied Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Mfn Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Preferential Tariff Pct0%
Tariff Advantage Pp+0.1 pp
Avg Distance All Partners Km9,372
Num Border Partners130
Num Colonial Partners25
Avg Substitution Elasticity-8.1
Pct Products High Elasticity64
Pct Products Low Elasticity5
Real Market Potential26,225
Foreign Market Potential10,569.9

Exposure fields

Country Iso3LAO
All History Lane Count2,372
Current Lane Count988
Critical Lane Count11
High Attention Lane Count248
High Volatility Lane Count542
Unrecovered Drawdown Lane Count297
Declining Demand Lane Count7
Concentrated Market Lane Count427
Access Friction Lane Count489
Buyer Macro Weakness Lane Count171
Monitored Exports Current Usd$8.8B
Attention Exports Usd$6.8B
Critical Exports Usd$574.8M
High Volatility Exports Usd$4.5B
Unrecovered Drawdown Exports Usd$1.5B
Non Fta Exports Usd$1.5B
Monitored Attention Share Pct76.5%
Monitored Critical Share Pct6.5%
Fta Covered Exports Share Pct82.7%
Export Weighted Volatility Cv1.1
Export Weighted Below Peak Pct16.2%
Export Weighted Distance Km3,398 km
Export Weighted Tariff Pct0.2%
Latest Data Year2,024
First Data Year1,995
Country Years Count30
Total Exports Latest Usd$9.3B
Total Imports Latest Usd$9.6B
Trade Balance Latest Usd-$355.5M
Exports Yoy Latest Pct11.6%
Exports Cagr 3y Latest Pct5.1%
Gdp Latest Million Usd16,502.93 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Latest Usd$2.1K
Population Latest7,769,819
Investment Rate Latest Pct29.4%
Savings Rate Latest Pct15%
Trade Openness Latest Pct94.9%
Exports Gdp Latest Pct46.6%
Active Partners Latest270
Fta Partners Latest19
Foreign Market Potential Latest10,569.9
Gdp 5y Cagr Pct-2.5%
Gdp Per Capita 5y Cagr Pct-3.9%
Population 5y Cagr Pct1.4%
Partner Hhi Latest2,163
Partner Top1 Share Latest Pct32.3%
Partner Top3 Share Latest Pct71.9%
Partner Hhi All Avg2,081.2
Partner Hhi All Max3,339.8
Product Hhi Latest929.3
Product Top1 Share Latest Pct27.1%
Product Top3 Share Latest Pct40.8%
Product Hhi All Avg829.4
Product Hhi All Max1,574.2
Total Exports Attention Share Pct72.9%
Total Exports Critical Share Pct6.2%
Attention LevelHigh attention
Primary Risk DriverHigh trade volatility
Macro Resilience LabelEconomy and income contracted

Annual country history

YearExportsImportsTrade balanceExports YoYExports CAGR 3Y
1995$282.1M$594.4M-$312.4MNot reportedNot reported
1996$321.3M$594.4M-$273.1M+13.9%Not reported
1997$285.1M$582.1M-$296.9M-11.2%Not reported
1998$220.6M$535.8M-$315.2M-22.6%-7.9%
1999$263.8M$600.2M-$336.4M+19.6%-6.4%
2000$341.8M$599.3M-$257.5M+29.6%+6.2%
2001$313.5M$647.6M-$334.0M-8.3%+12.4%
2002$318.4M$638.1M-$319.8M+1.5%+6.5%
2003$346.8M$718.6M-$371.8M+8.9%+0.5%
2004$395.6M$955.1M-$559.5M+14.1%+8.1%
2005$651.3M$1.1B-$463.9M+64.6%+26.9%
2006$1.2B$1.5B-$317.1M+76.6%+49.1%
2007$1.2B$1.9B-$683.7M+4.3%+44.7%
2008$1.5B$2.5B-$1.0B+24%+31.7%
2009$1.6B$2.1B-$559.2M+5%+10.7%
2010$2.5B$3.0B-$518.7M+57.6%+27.1%
2011$3.1B$3.9B-$758.1M+28%+28.4%
2012$3.2B$4.9B-$1.7B+0.3%+26.5%
2013$4.6B$6.2B-$1.6B+44.7%+22.9%
2014$4.5B$6.6B-$2.1B-1.1%+12.8%
2015$4.2B$5.9B-$1.7B-6.5%+10.2%
2016$3.9B$5.6B-$1.7B-8.4%-5.4%
2017$5.0B$6.4B-$1.4B+28.5%+3.3%
2018$5.8B$6.9B-$1.1B+15.6%+10.8%
2019$6.0B$6.7B-$743.2M+4%+15.6%
2020$5.9B$5.8B$52.0M-1.5%+5.8%
2021$8.0B$6.6B$1.4B+35.6%+11.6%
2022$9.9B$8.3B$1.6B+23.3%+18.1%
2023$8.3B$8.7B-$341.5M-15.7%+12.1%
2024$9.3B$9.6B-$355.5M+11.6%+5.1%

Top export sectors

RankHS2SectorExportsShareExport partnersActive HS6
127Mineral fuels$2.6B27.7%733
285Electrical machinery$920.6M9.9%102262
331Fertilisers$808.6M8.7%2624
426Ores, slag and ash$712.3M7.7%722
571Precious stones and metals$506.8M5.5%2333
640Rubber$446.8M4.8%3574
728Inorganic chemicals$344.7M3.7%22135
844Wood and wood articles$265.4M2.9%3183
907Vegetables$262.1M2.8%1860
1048Paper and paperboard$261.7M2.8%22100

Detailed HS4 export lines

RankHS4Parent HS2ExportsShareActive HS6
12716Mineral fuels (27)$2.5B27.1%1
23104Fertilisers (31)$799.8M8.6%3
37108Precious stones and metals (71)$474.2M5.1%3
48517Electrical machinery (85)$348.1M3.7%7
58541Electrical machinery (85)$348.0M3.7%7
62601Ores, slag and ash (26)$335.2M3.6%2
72603Ores, slag and ash (26)$295.2M3.2%1
84001Rubber (40)$259.8M2.8%5
94805Paper and paperboard (48)$258.6M2.8%11
100714Vegetables (07)$256.0M2.8%5
112846Inorganic chemicals (28)$251.3M2.7%1
124002Rubber (40)$186.3M2%8

Top export destinations

RankDestinationISO3ExportsShareYoYCAGR 3Y
1ThailandTHA$3.0B32.3%+52.1%+1.6%
2ChinaCHN$2.9B30.8%-10.8%+4.8%
3Viet NamVNM$825.2M8.9%-22.1%-4.9%
4USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$747.8M8.1%+173.8%+63.9%
5AustraliaAUS$266.9M2.9%-27%-9.2%
6GermanyDEU$247.3M2.7%+69.2%+33.4%
7CambodiaKHM$234.8M2.5%+90.6%+18.1%
8JapanJPN$128.4M1.4%-12.6%+4.1%
9Switzerland, LiechtensteinCHE$122.5M1.3%+71.7%-10.3%
10MexicoMEX$105.8M1.1%+1.4%+10%

Destination risk context

RankDestinationAttentionAttention shareBelow peakApplied tariffPrimary reason
1Thailand (THA)Critical attention99%11.8%27.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
2Viet Nam (VNM)High attention85.4%33.7%15.2%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
3China (CHN)High attention53.2%19.8%28.6%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
4Japan (JPN)High attention62.1%29.2%1.5%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
5USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)High attention99.6%3.1%4.5%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
6Cambodia (KHM)High attention99.1%0.2%16%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
7Germany (DEU)High attention90.8%8.3%0.9%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
8Mexico (MEX)High attention78.1%9.8%13.6%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
9Republic of Korea (KOR)High attention82.7%4.7%13.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure
10Denmark (DNK)High attention83.8%16.3%1%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction

Emerging corridor signals

RankDestinationHS6SignalMarket importsCurrent shareStrength
1Philippines (PHL)170199new$178.0M0.1%100
2Panama (PAN)900150new$8.0M1.6%100
3China (CHN)284180new$56.0M5.1%100
4China (CHN)283691new$2.5B0%100
5Nigeria (NGA)282751new$839.7K13.3%100
6Brazil (BRA)310420new$3.6B0.2%100
7Japan (JPN)381121new$341.3M0%100
8Indonesia (IDN)282759new$3.1M63.1%100
9Honduras (HND)901812new$3.8M3.2%100
10Israel (ISR)999999new$47.6M1.9%100

Market opportunity signals

RankMarketHS6Buyer importsAddressable 3-year valueCurrent shareSignal
1China (CHN)260111$111.0B$118.6B0.3%Growing (-2.6%)
2China (CHN)854231$158.0B$93.1B0%Declining (+10.5%)
3China (CHN)854232$80.6B$65.7B0%Declining (+20.6%)
4China (CHN)710812$80.8B$64.8B0.1%Accelerating (+2.4%)
5China (CHN)120190$47.8B$62.4B0%Growing (-13.5%)
6China (CHN)854239$81.8B$61.4B0%Declining (+4%)
7USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)851712$53.9B$53.8B0%Stable (-8.8%)
8USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)847150$53.9B$45.6B0%Declining (+60.2%)

How to read this page

Separate reported scale from calculated context.

Reported exports, imports, trade balance, sector rows, destination rows, and annual history describe merchandise trade observations for the stated country and year.

CAGR, shares, concentration measures, tariff context, exposure shares, and momentum are calculated indicators built from the available observations. They help organize research but are not additional reported trade or forecasts.

Coverage runs from 1995 through 2024 for this profile. Missing values are shown as Not reported. Read the full methodology ↗

Reported observations

OECD BIMTS merchandise trade values are the primary series for this view.

Calculated indicators

Growth, share, HHI, tariff, and exposure fields are derived from available reported values.

Coverage limits

Unavailable values remain unavailable. No company sales, shipment records, or forecasts are implied.

Questions about this profile

Laos export capability, in context

Short answers for readers comparing country export scale, partner breadth, and calculated trade indicators.

What does the Laos export profile measure?

It combines reported exports, imports, history, destinations, HS2 sectors, partner context, and calculated indicators for Laos.

What is the latest reported export value for Laos?

Laos recorded $9.3B in reported exports in 2024.

Which markets receive the most exports from Laos?

Thailand leads by reported export value at $3.0B in 2024. Five destination lanes are highlighted.

Which sectors lead Laos's exports?

Mineral fuels leads by reported value at $2.6B. Five HS2 chapters are highlighted.

How many years of Laos trade history are available?

This sample contains 30 observed annual rows covering 1995 through 2024. Missing observations are not estimated.

Are the growth and exposure values forecasts?

No. They are calculated or classified from reported observations, not forecasts or market-access guarantees.

Continue your research

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Compare countries, products, sectors, and routes using the available trade evidence and definitions.

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-28). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.