Terrestrial protected areas in Laos
Laos: Terrestrial protected areas was 18.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in Laos, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring. Measured in % of total land area.
Analysis
Laos recorded 18.8% for terrestrial protected areas in 2025.
That represents a change of up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in Laos peaked at 19.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 2013.
Laos ranks 95th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16.7% | — |
| 2014 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 18.7% | +12.0% |
| 2021 | 18.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 18.7% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19.0% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 18.8% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 18.8% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.7% | 16.7% | 16.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 18.8% | 18.7% | 19.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 92 United Arab Emirates 19.2% compare
- 93 Pakistan 19.1% compare
- 94 Equatorial Guinea 19.0% compare
- 95 Latvia 18.8% compare
- 97 Saudi Arabia 18.5% compare
- 98 Thailand 18.4% compare
More climate change data for Laos
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Urban population 40.3% (2025)
- Urban population 3.17 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.2% (2025)
- Population, total 7.87 million (2025)
- Population growth 1.3% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 41.55 (2024)
- Temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology 2.03 (2024)
- Per capita CO₂ emissions vs. per capita energy use 3.14 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global cumulative CO₂ emissions including land-use change 0.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in Laos?
- Terrestrial protected areas in Laos was 18.8% in 2025, according to Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring.
- What is the highest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 2013.
- How does Laos rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- Laos ranks 95th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring, published as part of Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.