Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO) in Laos
Laos: Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO) was 76.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) in Laos, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) in Laos stood at 76.4%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) in Laos peaked at 91.5% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 76.4%, in 2025.
Laos ranks 18th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO) in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 91.5% | — |
| 1992 | 91.3% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 91.0% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 90.6% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 90.2% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 89.7% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 89.2% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 88.6% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 88.1% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 87.5% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 87.0% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 86.5% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 85.9% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 85.4% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 84.9% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 84.3% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 83.9% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 83.5% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 83.0% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 82.4% | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 81.8% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 81.2% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 80.8% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 80.4% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 80.0% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 79.5% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 79.0% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 78.5% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 78.1% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 77.8% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 77.4% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 77.1% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 76.9% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 76.6% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 76.4% | -0.3% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 76.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 59.3%, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 76.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 33.6%, 2.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 90.0% | 88.1% | 91.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 85.2% | 83.0% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.2% | 78.1% | 82.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.0% | 76.4% | 77.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More work & labour data for Laos
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 1,934 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.2 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 3,788 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 1.25 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.16 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 19,084 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 6,038 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 65.37 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.63 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) in Laos?
- Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) in Laos was 76.4% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 91.5% in 1991.
- What is the lowest vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.4% in 2025.
- How does Laos rank for vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment)?
- Laos ranks 18th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.