Lao PDR's arable land (% of land area) was 5.3% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.21 percentage points from 6.51% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.3% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 5.61% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 6.51% | 2014 |
| Highest | 6.55% | 2016 |
| Lowest | 2.77% | 1961 |
| Average since 2015 | 5.74% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 2.77% | 1961 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Lao PDR's arable land (% of land area) did not change 0 percentage points on 2023 (from 5.3% to 5.3%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.2 percentage points in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.31 percentage points in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.16 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Lao PDR had the 133rd highest value of the 205 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Lao PDR | 5.3% | 2024 |
| World | 10.67% | 2023 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 8.69% | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 18.32% | 2023 |
Closest to Lao PDR in the 2024 ranking
- Bolivia — 130th of 205: 5.56%
- Bermuda — 131st of 205: 5.56%
- Mali — 132nd of 205: 5.5%
- Liberia — 134th of 205: 5.19%
- Madagascar — 135th of 205: 5.16%
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 136th of 205: 5.14%
What this measures
Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
Limitations: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. Thus, data on agricultural land in different climates may not be comparable. For example, permanent pastures are quite different in nature and intensity in African countries and dry Middle Eastern countries. The data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 64 values
| Year | Arable land (% of land area) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.3 |
| 2023 | 5.3 |
| 2022 | 5.3 |
| 2021 | 5.3 |
| 2020 | 5.3 |
| 2019 | 5.61 |
| 2018 | 5.92 |
| 2017 | 6.24 |
| 2016 | 6.55 |
| 2015 | 6.53 |
| 2014 |
Arable land (% of land area) in nearby economies
- American Samoa — 8.44% (2024)
- Australia — 4.07% (2024)
- Brunei Darussalam — 0.76% (2024)
- Cambodia — 23.34% (2024)
- China — 11.55% (2024)
- Fiji — 4.19% (2024)
- French Polynesia — 0.71% (2024)
- Guam — 1.85% (2024)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 1.9% (2024)
- Indonesia — 9.35% (2024)
- Japan — 11.04% (2024)
More environment data for Lao PDR
- Population in largest city — 755,941 (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 23.82% (2025)
- Rural population — 4.7 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 59.69% (2025)
- Urban population — 3.17 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 40.31% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 153,504 (2024)
- Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 78,795 (2024)
- Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 232,299 (2024)
- Rural population growth (annual %) — 0.06% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lao PDR's arable land (% of land area)?
- 5.3% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1961?
- It is up 2.53 percentage points from 2.77% in 1961. The highest value was 6.55% in 2016 and the lowest 2.77% in 1961.
- How does Lao PDR rank?
- 133rd highest of 205 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in arable land (% of land area) unusual for Lao PDR?
- In 2024, Lao PDR's arable land (% of land area) did not change 0 percentage points on 2023 (from 5.3% to 5.3%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and website, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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