Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Laos instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 76.7% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 22.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Laos, that number is 5.3% of people as of 2016.
live 9.5 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022. In Laos, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 82.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 6.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Laos, that number is 1.2% as of 2023.
be 14.9% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Panama, 21.5% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Laos, however, that number is 18.3% as of 2018.
make 76.5% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $35,800 as of 2023, while in Laos, the GDP per capita is $8,400 as of 2023.
Life
have 13.8% more children
In Panama, there are approximately 17.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Laos, there are 19.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 50.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Laos, 126.0 women do as of 2020.
be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 16.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Laos, on the other hand, 37.8 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 41.0% less on education
Panama spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Laos spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 72.2% less on healthcare
Panama spends 9.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Laos, that number is 2.7% of GDP as of 2020.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Laos: At a glance
How big is Laos compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.