Laos is seeing two major population shifts at the same time: more foreign nationals are living in the country, while hundreds of thousands of Lao citizens are residing overseas. Figures from the 2025 Population and Housing Census highlight the scale of migration and the growing pressures facing the country’s labour market.
Foreign Resident Numbers Rise Sharply
The census recorded 79,827 foreign residents in Laos in 2025, compared with 45,538 in 2015. Vietnamese nationals remained the largest foreign community, with 28,269 residents. Chinese nationals formed the second-largest group, reaching 25,492 in 2025, up from 13,400 in 2015 and just 1,825 in 2005.
More Than 313,000 Lao Citizens Living Abroad
The 2025 census also counted 313,766 Lao citizens living overseas. This figure should be treated as a minimum estimate: the method relied on households in Laos reporting former family members who had moved abroad, so people who left with their entire families or had no relatives remaining in the country may not have been counted.
Savannakhet recorded the largest number of Lao citizens living abroad, at 127,694 — more than 40 percent of the national total. Champasack and Salavan followed.
Employment and Living Costs Drive Migration
Low wages and rising living costs are among the factors encouraging Lao job seekers to look for better-paid work overseas, particularly in Thailand. Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare figures cited in the report show that 93 percent of registered job seekers during the first nine months of 2026 sought employment abroad, while businesses in Laos continued to face difficulties filling vacancies.
Remittances Provide Important Support
Overseas employment also brings significant income back to Lao households. Lao workers abroad sent an estimated USD 500.7 million in remittances during the first seven months of 2026. The government is expanding formal overseas employment channels, including a plan to send 17,000 workers to South Korea for seasonal agricultural jobs.
At the same time, authorities are reviewing a proposed increase in the minimum wage to LAK 4.1 million (about USD 190), aiming to ease pressure on households and make domestic employment more attractive.
What the Figures Mean for Laos
The census figures point to a complex challenge for Laos: migration can provide families with income and workers with access to better-paying jobs, but the continued movement of labour abroad may also make it harder for local businesses to recruit and retain staff. Strengthening wages, working conditions, skills development and safe, regulated overseas employment will be important as the country responds to these demographic changes.
Source: Laotian Times — “More Lao Citizens Live Abroad as Foreign Population Nearly Doubles” (21 October 2026). This article is an independently written summary of the source report.
