International tourism, number of departures in Laos
Laos: International tourism, number of departures was 707,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in Laos, 2010–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Laos recorded 707,000 for international tourism, number of departures in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 73.7% on the previous year and down 58.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Laos peaked at 3.32 million in 2014 and was at its lowest, 707,000, in 2020.
Laos ranks 72nd of 117 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1.69 million | — |
| 2011 | 1.79 million | +6.0% |
| 2012 | 2.05 million | +14.8% |
| 2013 | 2.86 million | +39.2% |
| 2014 | 3.32 million | +16.2% |
| 2015 | 3.07 million | -7.6% |
| 2016 | 3.06 million | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 3.05 million | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 3.21 million | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 2.69 million | -16.1% |
| 2020 | 707,000 | -73.7% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 707,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 707,000, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Laos's 707,000 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 707,000, 1.0× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.68 million | 1.69 million | 3.32 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 707,000 | 707,000 | 707,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More private sector data for Laos
- Merchandise trade 124.1% (2025)
- Food imports 12.7% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 61.7% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 10.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.65 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 23.2% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 32.8% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 12.38 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 1.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,572 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Laos?
- International tourism, number of departures in Laos was 707,000 in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 3.32 million in 2014.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 707,000 in 2020.
- How does Laos rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Laos ranks 72nd out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 58.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.