Disaster Management Reference Handbook - Lao PDR (February 2021)
Format
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or Laos) is a land-locked, multi-ethnic, socialist state in Southeast Asia. It enjoys social stability, and there are no serious external threats to its political or economic existence. These conditions have allowed the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party to focus on reducing poverty via development and economic expansion. Since economic liberalization began in the 1980s, the economy has grown at greater than 6% annually,1 and poverty rates have fallen from 46% in 1993 to 18% in 2019. Still, more than 1 million Laotians live in poverty,2 and there is a high probability that many will slide back into poverty due to economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.