Laos flag (Wikipedia)

A landlocked Southeast Asian nation on the Indochinese peninsula, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic shipped US$14.4 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2025.

That projected dollar amount reflects a 101.4% acceleration from $7.2 billion five years earlier during 2021.

From 2024 to 2025, the overall value of Laotian exports expanded by 14.6% starting from $12.6 billion.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Lao kip appreciated by 55.1% against the US dollar since 2021 and flatlined via a 0.4% gain from 2024 to 2025. Laos’ stronger local currency makes its exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers starting from US dollars.

The 5 biggest exports from Laos by value are electrical energy, solar power diodes and semi-conductors, unwrought gold, potassic fertilizers then natural rubber. Collectively, that quintet of 5 major Laotian exports represent over half (51.7%) of the Asian country’s international sales revenues during 2025.

The latest available country-specific data from 2023 shows that 87.5% of products exported from Laos were bought by importers in: mainland China (38.2% of the Laotian total), Vietnam (19.9%), Thailand (13.1%), Australia (5.7%), United States of America (1.64%), Japan (1.62%), Germany (1.57%), Singapore (1.42%), India (1.37%), Hong Kong (1.2%), Switzerland (1%) and Denmark (0.6%).

From a continental perspective, 85% of Laos’s exports by value were delivered to fellow Asian countries while 6.7% were sold to importers in Europe. Laos shipped another 6.2% worth of goods to Oceania led by Australia.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (2%), Africa (0.02%) then Latin America (0.01%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Laos’ population of 7.8 million people, its total US$14.4 billion in 2025 exports translates to about $1,850 for every resident in the Southeast Asian country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $1,650 per capita one year earlier in 2024.

Laos’ top 10 export product categories generated over three-quarters (75.8%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Electrical machinery and equipment represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 86.7% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was gems and precious metals via an 85% advance led by unwrought gold.

Laos’ shipments of inorganic chemicals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 39.9%.

The leading decliner among Laos’ top 10 export categories was ores, slag and ash thanks to a -10.2% year-over-year drop.

The above listed product categories are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, electrical energy represents Laos’ most valuable exported product at 20.4% of the country’s total. In second place were solar power diodes and semi-conductors (13.5%), unwrought gold (9.2%), potassic fertilizers (6.2%), natural rubber (4.8%), sweet potatoes and yams (3.2%), uncoated paper (3.1%), iron ores and concentrates (3%), rare earth metals (also 3%) then copper ores and concentrates (2.9%).

Laos generated an estimated US$3.6 billion trade surplus for 2025, increasing by 37.9% from $2.6 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2024.

The following types of Laotian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Not one Laotian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists international trade-related companies from Laos. Selected examples are shown below.

 
In macroeconomic terms, total exported goods from Laos represent 18.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($78.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 18.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 16.8% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Laos’ total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Laos’ unemployment rate averaged 1.2% for 2025, same as an average 1.2% one year earlier according to Trading Economics statistics.

Nicknamed the “Sandalwood City”, Vientiane is the capital city for Laos.

See also Indonesia’ Top 10 Exports, Indonesia’ Top 10 Imports, Top Asian Export Countries and Coal Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Asia: Laos. Accessed on September 12, 2026

EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Lao Kip (LAK) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Forbes 2021 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 12, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 12, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Wikipedia, Flag of Laos. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Wikipedia, Laos. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Laos. Accessed on September 12, 2026

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 12, 2026