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Laos poverty falls to 15.0%, but urban poverty rises and remittance households more than double

Published Data as of Research noteLaosMacro & households
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Key points

Implications for lenders

With 21.6% of households receiving remittances, lenders serving lower-income Lao borrowers may need to treat remittances as a regular but volatile income source and stress-test affordability for interruptions. Rising urban poverty (8.9%) and average inflation of 7.9% in January–September 2026 suggest that living-cost assumptions in underwriting could deserve an update for town-based borrowers.

Implications

ExecutivesMore low-income households now live in towns and rely on money sent from abroad, which changes where and how small-ticket credit and savings products reach them.
InvestorsHousehold repayment capacity in Laos rests increasingly on remittances and farm income, both exposed to migration rules abroad, harvests and kip inflation.
OperatorsRemittance receipts and seasonal farm income are central to repayment capacity for many Lao households and can be captured in affordability checks.

Facts

The survey: the Lao Statistics Bureau and the World Bank launched the Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR on 22 July 2026, based on the Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS) 2024–25. Measured against a national poverty line of LAK 727,365 per person a month 1 in consumption, 15.0% 2 of people were poor, down from 18.3% in 2018–19 under the same method. The rate was 18.0% 3 in rural areas and 8.9% 4 in towns, where it went the other way (up from 7.0% in 2018–19). The World Bank's summary puts the urban share of the poor at 19.3% 5, up from 12.4% in 2018–19. Inequality narrowed: the consumption Gini coefficient was 34.7 6, down from a peak of 38.8 in 2018–19.

Income sources: 21.6% 7 of households received remittances, up from 9.2% in 2018–19, and 27.2% 8 had a member who had migrated (up from 18.3% in 2018–19). Work remains concentrated in farming: 82.3% 9 of workers in poor households and 63.6% 10 of those in non-poor households were in agriculture, and the report describes most jobs as low skilled.

Since the survey: the Finance Minister told the National Assembly on 7 October 2026 that the government had set a minimum salary of at least LAK 3 million a month 11 for eligible public-sector staff and retirees.

Analysis

Time comparison: between the 2018–19 and 2024–25 rounds, poverty fell to 15.0% (down from 18.3% in 2018–19), while the share of households receiving remittances more than doubled to 21.6%. Gains came mostly in the countryside; in towns poverty rose to 8.9%, so a growing share of poor households lives within reach of urban lenders and agents.

After the survey: the poverty line is fixed in kip, and prices have kept rising. Consumer prices were up 7.9% 12 on average in January–September 2026 from a year earlier, so households just above the line in 2024–25 may have slipped closer to it. Remittances, now a much larger income source, are also moving: workers registered abroad through official channels numbered 112,436 13 (down about 25% from 149,294 in 2025), while recorded inflows from Lao workers abroad were USD 500.7 m 14 in January–July 2026.

Counterpoints and uncertainties

The survey reflects consumption in 2024–25, before the price rises of 2026, so the current poverty rate may differ. Rural and urban figures cover different populations and the report does not give household debt or borrowing data, so links to credit risk are indirect. Remittance-receiving households are measured by the survey, while remittance amounts come from registered channels; informal transfers are not captured in the inflow figure. The public-sector salary floor covers only eligible state personnel and retirees, not private-sector workers.

Key figures

  1. National poverty line: LAK 727,365 per person a month
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . National poverty line used for LECS 2024–25, consumption per person per month. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  2. Poverty rate (national line): 15.0% (down from 18.3% in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of people below the national poverty line, LECS 2024–25 (2018–19 method), LSB and World Bank. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  3. Rural poverty rate: 18.0%
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of rural population below the national poverty line, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  4. Urban poverty rate: 8.9% (up from 7.0% in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of urban population below the national poverty line, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  5. Urban share of the poor: 19.3% (up from 12.4% in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of people below the poverty line who live in urban areas, World Bank summary of LECS. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: World Bank: Poverty falls in Laos, but quality jobs remain scarce (2026-07-21)
  6. Gini coefficient (consumption): 34.7 (down from a peak of 38.8 in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Gini coefficient of household consumption, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  7. Households receiving remittances: 21.6% (up from 9.2% in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of Lao households receiving remittances, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  8. Households with a migrant member: 27.2% (up from 18.3% in 2018–19)
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of Lao households with at least one migrant member, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  9. Poor workers in agriculture: 82.3%
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of workers in poor households working in agriculture, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  10. Non-poor workers in agriculture: 63.6%
    Survey round 2024–25 (fieldwork across 2024 and 2025); comparison with 2018–19 uses the 2018–19 methodology. Basis date is the report launch.
    . Share of workers in non-poor households working in agriculture, LECS 2024–25. Lao PDR, LECS 2024–25 household survey. Basis date: 22 Jul 2026. Source: Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)
  11. Minimum monthly salary, public sector: at least LAK 3 million a month. Minimum monthly salary set by the government for eligible public-sector personnel and retirees. Lao PDR, public sector. Basis date: 7 Oct 2026. Source: KPL Lao News Agency: Government increases budget for salaries, education and health (2026-10-07)
  12. Average CPI inflation, January–September: 7.9% (down from 8.8% in January–September 2025). Average year-on-year CPI inflation for January–September 2026. Nationwide. Basis date: 30 Sep 2026. Source: Laotian Times: Laos inflation rises to 7.8 percent in September as education, utility costs climb (2026-09-29)
  13. Registered Lao workers abroad: 112,436 (down about 25% from 149,294 in 2025). Lao workers abroad registered through official channels by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. Officially registered migrant workers. Basis date: 22 Sep 2026. Source: Laotian Times: Lao Migrant Workers Send Home USD 500 Million in First Seven Months of 2026 (2026-09-23)
  14. Remittances from Lao workers abroad, January–July: USD 500.7 m
    As stated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare on 22 September 2026 (reported by the Laotian Times); the source gives no year-on-year comparison.
    . Remittances sent home by Lao workers abroad, January–July 2026. Lao workers abroad (officially tracked channels). Basis date: 31 Jul 2026. Source: Laotian Times: Lao Migrant Workers Send Home USD 500 Million in First Seven Months of 2026 (2026-09-23)

Sources

  1. Lao Statistics Bureau and World Bank: Poverty Profile in the Lao PDR, report launch (2026-07-22)primary
  2. World Bank: Poverty falls in Laos, but quality jobs remain scarce (2026-07-21)primary
  3. KPL Lao News Agency: Government increases budget for salaries, education and health (2026-10-07)
  4. Laotian Times: Laos inflation rises to 7.8 percent in September (2026-09-29)
  5. Laotian Times: Lao migrant workers send home USD 500 million in first seven months of 2026 (2026-09-23)
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