Lao PDR's net trade in goods (current US$, BoP) was US$2.27 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 212.06% from −US$2.02 billion in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$2.27 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | US$744.53 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | −US$2.02 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | US$2.27 billion | 2025 |
| Lowest | −US$2.02 billion | 2015 |
| Average since 2016 | US$395.36 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | −US$118.1 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Lao PDR's net trade in goods (current US$, BoP) rose US$1.12 billion on 2024 (from US$1.14 billion to US$2.27 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +US$46.07 million and a typical year strayed about US$400.56 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$1.21 billion in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was US$912.97 million in 2014. 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$346.52 million a year. A straight line explains 84% 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 US$3.05 billion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$398.38 million, against US$577.84 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2025, Lao PDR had the 45th highest value of the 136 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Lao PDR in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods is the difference between the exports and imports of goods. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
All 42 values
| Year | Net trade in goods (current US$, BoP) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,265,832,912 |
| 2024 | 1,142,972,503 |
| 2023 | 721,175,510 |
| 2022 | 954,112,564 |
| 2021 | 1,419,492,469 |
| 2020 | 744,530,808 |
| 2019 | -465,970,419 |
| 2018 | -906,821,714 |
| 2017 | -794,159,102 |
| 2016 | -1,127,593,905 |
| 2015 |
Net trade in goods (current US$, BoP) in nearby economies
- Australia — US$29.07 billion (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — US$4.01 billion (2025)
- Cambodia — −US$5.57 billion (2025)
- China — US$1.06 trillion (2025)
- Fiji — −US$1.73 billion (2024)
- French Polynesia — −US$1.31 billion (2016)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — −US$9.39 billion (2025)
- Indonesia — US$49.85 billion (2025)
- Japan — −US$3.74 billion (2025)
- Kiribati — −US$253.24 million (2025)
More economic policy & debt data for Lao PDR
- Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — 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
Questions people ask
- What is Lao PDR's net trade in goods (current US$, BoP)?
- US$2.27 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1984?
- It is up 2,019% from −US$118.1 million in 1984. The highest value was US$2.27 billion in 2025 and the lowest −US$2.02 billion in 2015.
- How does Lao PDR rank?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.GSR.MRCH.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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