Lao PDR: Population living in slums (% of urban population)

Key figures

Since 2000 it is up 0.44 percentage points from 54.4% in 2000. The World Bank has no value for 11 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2022, Lao PDR had the 24th highest value of the 153 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 2022 ranking

• Pakistan — 20th of 153: 55.97%
• Mozambique — 21st of 153: 54.96%
• Zimbabwe — 22nd of 153: 54.88%
• Uganda — 24th of 153: 52.68%
• Bangladesh — 25th of 153: 51.51%
• Haiti — 26th of 153: 51.06%

What this measures

Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.

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

All 12 values

Population living in slums (% of urban population) in nearby economies

• Australia — 0.04% (2022)
• Brunei Darussalam — 21.6% (2022)
• Cambodia — 42.27% (2022)
• Fiji — 9.4% (2022)
• Indonesia — 19.41% (2022)
• Kiribati — 5.93% (2022)
• Marshall Islands — 2.38% (2022)
• Mongolia — 17.88% (2022)
• Myanmar — 58.28% (2022)
• Naoero

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

• 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 population living in slums (% of urban population)?

54.84% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 0.44 percentage points from 54.4% in 2000. The highest value was 54.84% in 2022 and the lowest 21.8% in 2020.

How does Lao PDR rank?

24th highest of 153 economies with data for 2022.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), uri: https://data.unhabitat.org/.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.POP.SLUM.UR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), uri: https://data.unhabitat.org/ 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.