Southeast Asia
Laos
EU Compliance · Geopolitical Risk · Sourcing Attractiveness
Market-entry intelligence →Why these scores
EU Compliance, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Geopolitical Risk, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Attractiveness, by dimension
9 = most attractive · methodology & sources
Analyst scores, last reviewed June 2026; each dimension's sources and cadence are on its methodology page.
Data layers
The EU is Laos's #6 import source (world lens). Laos is the EU's #127 goods supplier.
Laos on the world stage
Total imports
$7.1bn
2023 annual
Total exports
$6.0bn
115 partners
#1 import source
Thailand
41.7%
#1 export dest.
China
38.2%
2023 annual, UN Comtrade (HS TOTAL, all partners). Line colour: coverage (exports/imports per partner).
Laos and the EU
EU imports from
€447m
0.0% of extra-EU
EU exports to
€102m
0.0% of extra-EU
EU supplier rank
EU's #127 supplier
EU trade balance
one-sided
coverage 0.23
2025 annual totals, Eurostat COMEXT. EU trade board →
Electricity & grid
National sources · carbon from Ember
Industrial
73
EUR/MWh
Consumer
42
EUR/MWh, all-in
Grid carbon
232
gCO₂e/kWh
Renewables
77%
of generation
regulated market
Power market
● Export-revenue + dam debtMarket model
Single buyer (export-oriented)
Direct PPA
None
grid access: closed
Reserve margin
–
Regulator
Not independent
Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM)
An export-revenue-and-dam-debt model: EDL buys IPP power in dollars and sells it at home in a depreciating kip while sovereign debt near 108% of GDP locks Laos into building more dams to service the debt the dams…
Tracked infrastructure
3 coal plants
1.9 GW · 2 building
0 solar farms
capacity n/a · 1 building
29 hydro plants
8.5 GW · 12 building
1 coal mines
capacity n/a
Operating assets tracked by Global Energy Monitor (CC BY 4.0); counts are tracked facilities, not exhaustive totals. Energy overview →
Metal mining
Tagged mines
3
1 production-backed
Acid-drainage prone
3
high water-risk ore class
Main commodities
Copper
Mine-water verifiability
Partial
Mekong River Commission basin monitoring with water-quality…
Water risk is inferred from the ore class, not site measurements. Global mines: full layer →
Demographics
UN World Population Prospects 2024 · medium variant
Median age
24.6
→ 33 by 2050
Fertility
2.4
above replacement
Working-age
65.1%
aged 15–64
Old-age dep.
7.2
→ 14.4 by 2050
Median age 1990–2050
Population 7.77M · peaks 2068
By 2050: +26% (9.76M)