Cambodia vs Laos

Cambodia and Laos compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Cambodia has about 2.3 times as many people as Laos: 17.8 million against 7.9 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Cambodia ($2,872) is 24% higher than in Laos ($2,325) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Cambodia (5.3%) than in Laos (4.5%), a difference of 0.8 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Laos (7.7%) than in Cambodia (2.4%), a difference of 5.3 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Laos (1.2%) than in Cambodia (0.3%), a difference of 0.9 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Cambodia can expect to live 1.6 years longer than one born in Laos: 70.8 years against 69.2 years in 2024.
• The population of Cambodia is older: half of its people are over 25.8 years, against 24.3 years in Laos in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Cambodia (68.5%) than in Laos (65.6%), a difference of 2.9 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Laos (3.4 tonnes) are about 3.1 times as high as in Cambodia (1.1 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Laos (56.6%) than in Cambodia (37.6%), a difference of 19 percentage points in 2024.