What is life expectancy in Laos?

Life expectancy in Laos was 68.96 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Laos?

The highest recorded value was 68.96 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Laos?

The lowest recorded value was 38.94 years in 1950.

How does Laos rank for life expectancy?

Laos ranks 178th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Laos?

Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Laos data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Laos

Name: Life expectancy in Laos
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Laos: Life expectancy was 68.96 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

68.96 years

Change on year

up 0.4%

World rank

178th

of 236 countries

All-time high

68.96 years

in 2023

All-time low

38.94 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Laos, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in Laos is 68.96 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Laos peaked at 68.96 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 38.94 years, in 1950.

That places Laos 178th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	40.09 years	38.94 years	41.18 years	10
1960s	42.21 years	41.04 years	43.46 years	10
1970s	45.58 years	43.78 years	47.46 years	10
1980s	51.22 years	48.56 years	53.59 years	10
1990s	56.11 years	54.03 years	57.87 years	10
2000s	60.5 years	58.32 years	63.02 years	10
2010s	66.19 years	63.69 years	67.91 years	10
2020s	68.46 years	67.81 years	68.96 years	4

Countries ranked near Laos

175 Yemen 69.3 years compare
176 Palau 69.27 years compare
177 Botswana 69.16 years compare
179 Senegal 68.68 years compare
180 Eritrea 68.62 years compare
181 Bolivia 68.58 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Laos

Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 81,521 (2025)
Age population, age 20, male, interpolated 72,533 (2025)
Age population, age 20, female, interpolated 70,444 (2025)
Age population, age 19, male, interpolated 73,941 (2025)
Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 78,370 (2025)
Age population, age 19, female, interpolated 71,838 (2025)
Age population, age 18, female, interpolated 72,875 (2025)
Age population, age 18, male, interpolated 74,989 (2025)
Age dependency ratio 53.0% (2025)
Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 78,296 (2025)

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Laos?: Life expectancy in Laos was 68.96 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Laos?: The highest recorded value was 68.96 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Laos?: The lowest recorded value was 38.94 years in 1950.
How does Laos rank for life expectancy?: Laos ranks 178th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Laos?: Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Laos data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.