Lao PDR: Manufacturing, value added (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Lao PDR's manufacturing, value added (current US$) rose 11.6% on 2024 (from US$1.49 billion to US$1.67 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +13% and a typical year strayed about 26% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 120.7% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 59.2% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$35.95 million a year. A straight line explains 60% 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 2025, Lao PDR had the 105th highest value of the 132 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.

Closest to Lao PDR in the 2025 ranking

• Mauritius — 101st of 132: US$1.82 billion
• Cyprus — 102nd of 132: US$1.81 billion
• Jamaica — 103rd of 132: US$1.75 billion
• Kosovo — 105th of 132: US$1.56 billion
• Namibia — 106th of 132: US$1.51 billion
• Moldova — 107th of 132: US$1.51 billion

What this measures

Manufacturing includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) major division C and is defined as the physical or chemical transformation of materials or components into new products. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: In establishing classifications systems compilers must define both the types of activities to be described and the units whose activities are to be reported. There are many possibilities, and the choices affect how the statistics can be interpreted and how useful they are in analyzing economic behavior. The ISIC emphasizes commonalities in the production process and is explicitly not intended to measure outputs (for which there is a newly developed Central Product Classification). Nevertheless, the ISIC views an activity as defined by "a process resulting in a homogeneous set of products."

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 37 values

Manufacturing, value added (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$95.63 billion (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$1.49 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — US$14.88 billion (2025)
• China — US$4.82 trillion (2025)
• Fiji — US$566.21 million (2025)
• French Polynesia — US$263.67 million (2020)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$3.82 billion (2024)
• Indonesia — US$275.61 billion (2025)
• Japan — US$788.45 billion (2024)
• Kiribati — US$14.57 million (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Lao PDR

• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$347.91 million (2023)
• Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$) — US$90.18 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Japan (current US$) — US$41.74 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$435.39 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$514.84 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$514.84 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$514.84 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lao PDR's manufacturing, value added (current US$)?

US$1.67 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is up 6,017% from US$27.27 million in 1989 (12.11% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.67 billion in 2025 and the lowest US$27.27 million in 1989.

How does Lao PDR rank?

105th highest of 132 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in manufacturing, value added (current US$) unusual for Lao PDR?

In 2025, Lao PDR's manufacturing, value added (current US$) rose 11.6% on 2024 (from US$1.49 billion to US$1.67 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +13% and a typical year strayed about 26% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 NV.IND.MANF.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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