Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI) in Laos
Laos: Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI) was 5.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Laos, 1984–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of GNI.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Laos is 5.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.2% on the previous year and up 203.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Laos peaked at 5.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1985.
That places Laos 14th out of 123 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI) in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of GNI | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 0.3% | — |
| 1985 | 0.2% | -38.7% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | +54.8% |
| 1987 | 0.7% | +113.7% |
| 1988 | 1.1% | +76.0% |
| 1989 | 2.2% | +90.8% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -55.5% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -16.7% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | +155.0% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -39.8% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 1.4% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 1.9% | +48.9% |
| 1999 | 2.0% | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 2.1% | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 2.2% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | -6.4% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -23.8% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | -10.2% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +10.5% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -17.8% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | +50.2% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -15.5% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +38.7% |
| 2017 | 2.9% | +17.7% |
| 2018 | 3.7% | +27.0% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | +22.7% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -20.8% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 3.3% | -14.1% |
| 2023 | 5.1% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | 5.3% | +4.2% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 5.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.3%, 2.3× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Laos's 5.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.6%, 3.4× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI) in Laos changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +155.0% | 0.8% | 2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 6 |
| 1990s | 1.4% | 0.8% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.3% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.2% | 3.3% | 5.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 11 Tonga 6.2% compare
- 12 Saint Kitts and Nevis 6.0% compare
- 13 Montenegro 5.5% compare
- 15 Cote d'Ivoire 5.2% compare
- 16 Jamaica 5.2% compare
- 17 Serbia 5.0% compare
More external debt data for Laos
- IFC, private nonguaranteed -13.67 million NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -1.76 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0.0008 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 53.98 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA 76.31 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 9.82 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0046 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 6.9% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre 314.48 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), annual growth rate 5.14 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Laos?
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Laos was 5.3% in 2024, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 5.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1985.
- How does Laos rank for public and publicly guaranteed debt service?
- Laos ranks 14th out of 123 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public and publicly guaranteed debt service rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 203.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to gross national income. Public and publicly guaranteed debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term obligations of public debtors and long-term private obligations guaranteed by a public entity. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.