Report

The Situation of Children and Women of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Highlights

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is a lower middle‐income economy, highly dependent on natural resources. In 2018, with a gross national income per capita of US$ 2,450, Lao PDR reached the threshold for graduation from the ranks of least developed countries for the very first time. For Lao PDR to graduate in 2024, it will need to maintain its steady progress in the Human Assets Index and reduce its Economic Vulnerability Index. The former requires accelerating the decline in under-five mortality rate, decreasing undernourishment rates within the total population, and increasing the literacy rate and secondary gross enrolment ratio. The latter requires increasing economic resilience, diversifying the country’s exports, increasing the stability of agricultural production, and reducing the share of the agricultural and resources sectors in the total GDP.

Lao PDR continues to harmonize national laws, policies and programmes with its international human rights commitments but implementation lags behind. Lao PDR has acceded to or ratified seven of the nine Human Rights Treaties and two out of four Optional Protocols. However, most reports to treaty bodies and committees are overdue. In 2015, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review made 196 recommendations to address these gaps, of which the Government of Lao PDR has accepted 116. The next Review on Lao PDR will be in 2020.

Lao PDR has made significant progress in reducing infant and under‐five mortality, but maternal mortality remains high and disparities persist. The under-five mortality rate in the five-year period preceding the Lao Social Indicators Survey (LSIS) survey was 46 per thousand live births, with infant mortality rate estimated at 40. Inequities are still marked: children in the poorest quintile of households are 2.8 times more likely to die than those in the richest quintile. Lao PDR achieved the illennium Development Goals target of reducing its maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters from 1990 levels. However, at around 206 in 2015, Lao PDR still has the highest maternal mortality ratio among ASEAN countries