Lao PDR: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Lao PDR's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise exports) fell 0 percentage points on 2022 (from 0.0021% to 0.0021%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2022), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 0.46 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.03 percentage points in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.00264 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 76% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about -0.00894% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.00178%, against 0.00782% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2023, Lao PDR had the 188th highest value of the 190 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 2023 ranking

• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 184th of 190: 0.0029%
• Guinea — 185th of 190: 0.00257%
• Chad — 186th of 190: 0.00232%
• Gambia, The — 188th of 190: 0.00162%
• Uganda — 189th of 190: 0.00103%
• Afghanistan — 190th of 190: 0.000315%

What this measures

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America and the Caribbean are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to low- and middle-income economies in the Latin America and the Caribbean region according to World Bank classification of economies. Data are as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 32 values

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 3.18% (2023)
• Australia — 0.7% (2023)
• Brunei Darussalam — 0.39% (2022)
• Cambodia — 0.7% (2023)
• China — 6% (2023)
• Fiji — 0.54% (2017)

More private sector & trade data for Lao PDR

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$10.34 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$12.38 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 17.45% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 81.87% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$5.47 billion (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports) — 81.87% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Lao PDR's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise exports)?

0.0021% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.MRCH.R3.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); Direction of Trade database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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