Photo: Tango7174 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 01 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Laos: Governance & Institutions
How well is the state actually run?
Laos is placed 134th of 194 countries on governance & institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Government Effectiveness -0.593 (2025); Statistical Performance Indicators 60.84 (2024).
Governance & Institutions
134th
of 194 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
- -0.593Government Effectiveness, 2025Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)
- 60.84Statistical Performance Indicators, 2024SPI overall score (0–100)
- 34Corruption Perceptions Index, 2025CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)
- 0.571Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index, 2025Judicial constraints on the executive index (0–1)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Laos on governance & institutions — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Government Effectiveness
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: The quality of public services and the civil service that delivers them, and the credibility of a government's commitment to its own policies. Where the Corruption Perceptions Index asks whether a state is honest, this asks whether it is competent.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
-0.593
Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)
Higher is better
Laos: -0.593. Across the 209 countries in this edition, values run from -2.251 (South Sudan) to 2.092 (Singapore); the world median is 0.101.
- World median
- 0.101
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 2.092 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- China 0.624 · Cambodia -0.401 · Myanmar -1.618 · Thailand 0.262 · Vietnam 0.176
Each grey tick is one of 209 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Statistical Performance Indicators
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether a state can measure its own country. Nothing else here tests the capacity of the statistical system itself.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
60.84
SPI overall score (0–100)
Higher is better
Laos: 60.84. Across the 188 countries in this edition, values run from 27.12 (South Sudan) to 94.14 (Norway); the world median is 69.3.
- World median
- 69.3
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 88.32 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- China 57.93 · Cambodia 63.01 · Myanmar 64.52 · Thailand 85.04 · Vietnam 67.24
Each grey tick is one of 188 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International
Why it is a key: How much corruption the people who actually deal with a government perceive — an outcome, where the other keys measure the state’s capacity and the limits the law puts on it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0 (the data), CC BY-ND 4.0 (the website and report)
34
CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean)
Higher is better
Ranked 109th of 181 by Transparency International
Laos: 34. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 9 (Somalia) to 89 (Denmark); the world median is 39.
- World median
- 39
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 84 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- China 43 · Cambodia 20 · Myanmar 16 · Thailand 33 · Vietnam 41
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
Why it is a key: Whether the executive respects the constitution and obeys the courts, and whether the courts can rule against it freely — the law binding those who write it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
0.571
Judicial constraints on the executive index (0–1)
Higher is better
Laos: 0.571. Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from 0.003 (Nicaragua) to 0.988 (Australia); the world median is 0.676.
- World median
- 0.676
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 0.868 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- China 0.03 · Cambodia 0.072 · Myanmar 0.025 · Thailand 0.733 · Vietnam 0.152
Each grey tick is one of 176 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Laos is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Government Effectiveness
Governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos rose from -0.847 in 2000 to -0.593 in 2025; the world median went from -0.397 to 0.101.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 -0.593 0.1006 2024 -0.642 0.0098 2023 -0.750 -0.0408 2022 -0.755 -0.0305 2021 -0.805 -0.0158 2020 -0.803 -0.0171 2019 -0.744 0.0150 2018 -0.645 0.0159 2017 -0.270 0.0158 2016 -0.298 0.0225 2015 -0.364 0.0038 2014 -0.303 0.0194 2013 -0.686 -0.0758 2012 -0.837 -0.0839 2011 -0.843 -0.1221 2010 -0.864 -0.1145 2009 -0.885 -0.1609 2008 -0.869 -0.2134 2007 -0.909 -0.3260 2006 -0.955 -0.3310 2005 -1.290 -0.3706 2004 -1.014 -0.3140 2003 -1.568 -0.4369 2002 -1.223 -0.3366 2000 -0.847 -0.3969 Statistical Performance Indicators
SPI overall score (0–100) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos rose from 41.51 in 2016 to 60.84 in 2024; the world median went from 56.25 to 69.3.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2024 60.8 69.30 2023 60.9 68.86 2022 58.7 67.99 2021 60.3 69.96 2020 56.7 62.91 2019 53.3 61.19 2018 48.4 61.17 2017 45.5 59.55 2016 41.5 56.25 Corruption Perceptions Index
CPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos rose from 21 in 2012 to 34 in 2025; the world median went from 37 to 39.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 34 39.0 2024 33 40.0 2023 28 40.0 2022 31 39.5 2021 30 39.0 2020 29 40.0 2019 29 39.5 2018 29 38.0 2017 29 38.5 2016 30 38.0 2015 25 37.0 2014 25 38.0 2013 26 38.0 2012 21 37.0 Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index
Judicial constraints on the executive index (0–1) · higher is better
LaosWorld median
Laos fell from 0.671 in 2000 to 0.571 in 2025; the world median went from 0.647 to 0.676.
Every year’s figures
Year Laos World median 2025 0.571 0.6760 2024 0.572 0.6645 2023 0.538 0.6590 2022 0.517 0.6600 2021 0.580 0.6580 2020 0.562 0.6645 2019 0.564 0.6560 2018 0.566 0.6485 2017 0.605 0.6550 2016 0.638 0.6520 2015 0.672 0.6700 2014 0.672 0.6515 2013 0.672 0.6550 2012 0.672 0.6750 2011 0.672 0.6680 2010 0.672 0.6640 2009 0.659 0.6580 2008 0.659 0.6590 2007 0.659 0.6630 2006 0.659 0.6590 2005 0.671 0.6580 2004 0.671 0.6480 2003 0.671 0.6480 2002 0.671 0.6470 2001 0.671 0.6530 2000 0.671 0.6465
03In context
Laos beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 194 countries on governance & institutions, never a place within the region.
Laos and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 194 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Government EffectivenessGovernance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong) | Statistical Performance IndicatorsSPI overall score (0–100) | Corruption Perceptions IndexCPI score (0–100, where 100 is very clean) | Judicial Constraints on the Executive IndexJudicial constraints on the executive index (0–1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Thailand | 68th | 0.262 | 85.04 | 33 | 0.733 |
 Vietnam | 112th | 0.176 | 67.24 | 41 | 0.152 |
 China | 125th | 0.624 | 57.93 | 43 | 0.03 |
| Laos | 134th | -0.593 | 60.84 | 34 | 0.571 |
 Cambodia | 166th | -0.401 | 63.01 | 20 | 0.072 |
 Myanmar | 173rd | -1.618 | 64.52 | 16 | 0.025 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South-eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 194.
Placed either side on governance & institutions
The countries immediately above and below Laos in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Laos is ahead of the world, and behind
23 more statistics filed under governance & institutions, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median2
Statistics on which Laos does better than the middle country measured.
State Authority over TerritoryV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 95.398.2595.3▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 98.25 · world median 95.3 · Territory under effective state control (% of official territory). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 47.56 to 100; higher is better.
Women, Business and the LawWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 81.2585.6381.25▼ Worsened since 2014
Laos: 85.63 · world median 81.25 · WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.25 to 100; higher is better.
Position 68th of 190 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median19
Statistics on which Laos does worse than the middle country measured.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6815.516.68No earlier reading
Laos: 15.5 · world median 16.68 · Employees who are trade union members (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.2 to 91.42; higher is better.
Position 72nd of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2463.0833.246▼ Worsened since 2015
Laos: 3.083 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.
Position 46th of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 2025 · world median 40.1929.9240.19▲ Improved since 2020
Laos: 29.92 · world median 40.19 · AI readiness score (0–100). Oxford Insights, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 12.12 to 88.36; higher is better.
Ranked 125th of 195 by Oxford Insights.
Rule of LawWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.102-0.64-0.102▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: -0.64 · world median -0.102 · Rule of Law estimate (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.199 to 2.012; higher is better.
Position 146th of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GovTech Maturity IndexWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 0.630.4040.63▼ Worsened since 2022
Laos: 0.404 · world median 0.63 · GTMI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.01 to 0.997; higher is better.
Position 136th of 196 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Debt Service on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 12.9319.0412.93▼ Worsened since 2014
Laos: 19.04 · world median 12.93 · Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.285 to 96.2; lower is better.
Position 34th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Open Data InventoryOpen Data Watch · 2024 · world median 594659▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 46 · world median 59 · ODIN overall score (0–100). Open Data Watch, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 19 to 90; higher is better.
Ranked 122nd of 168 by Open Data Watch.
Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.093-0.66-0.093▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: -0.66 · world median -0.093 · Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.106 to 2.113; higher is better.
Position 154th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.5180.7650.518No real change since 2015
Laos: 0.765 · world median 0.518 · Political corruption index (0–1; higher = more corrupt). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.004 to 0.968; lower is better.
Position 43rd of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Climate Readiness (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.3870.2990.387▼ Worsened since 2014
Laos: 0.299 · world median 0.387 · ND-GAIN Readiness (0–1, where 1 is the most ready). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.137 to 0.749; higher is better.
Ranked 148th of 192 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
Liberal Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.3530.110.353▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 0.11 · world median 0.353 · Liberal democracy index (0–1). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.009 to 0.884; higher is better.
Position 137th of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Social Protection CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 52.115.552.1No earlier reading
Laos: 15.5 · world median 52.1 · Population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Control of CorruptionWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.197-0.992-0.197No real change since 2015
Laos: -0.992 · world median -0.197 · Control of Corruption (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.096 to 2.259; higher is better.
Position 173rd of 211 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.46598.4No earlier reading
Laos: 65 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
V-Dem Electoral Democracy IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.4970.1350.497▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: 0.135 · world median 0.497 · Electoral democracy index (0–1). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.016 to 0.913; higher is better.
Position 162nd of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.022-1.644-0.022▲ Improved since 2015
Laos: -1.644 · world median -0.022 · Voice and Accountability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.348 to 1.825; higher is better.
Position 190th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government Spending on EducationUIS · 2023 · world median 3.7091.2343.709▼ Worsened since 2013
Laos: 1.234 · world median 3.709 · Government expenditure on education (% of GDP). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 16.39; higher is better.
Position 118th of 123 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
External Debt Stocks (% of GNI)World Bank Group · 2024 · world median 43.94115.443.94▼ Worsened since 2014
Laos: 115.4 · world median 43.94 · External debt stocks (% of GNI). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 2.213 to 350.57; lower is better.
Position 5th of 110 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Civic Space RatingsCIVICUS · 2025 · world median 50.465.4250.46No earlier reading
Laos: 5.42 · world median 50.46 · Civic space score (0–100). CIVICUS, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.17 to 100; higher is better.
Position 193rd of 198 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end2
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 7.9756.2547.975No real change since 2012
Laos: 6.254 · world median 7.975 · Public sector wage bill (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0.977 to 42.65.
Position 109th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Central Bank Independence IndexAna Carolina Garriga, University of Essex · 2023 · world median 0.6080.1850.608No real change since 2013
Laos: 0.185 · world median 0.608 · CBI index (0–1, where 1 is the most statutory independence). Ana Carolina Garriga, University of Essex, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.006 to 0.974.
No current reading for Laos
Agriculture Orientation Index (last 2023), Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, General Government Consumption (last 2016), Government Funding per Primary Student (last 2014) and Public Sector Employment. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Governance & Institutions among Laos’s 15 topics
Governance & Institutions is Laos’s 8th best-placed topic of 15. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Energy34th of 1932/3 keys
- Work & Labour52nd of 1824/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability52nd of 1813/3 keys
- Gender & Equalityjoint 79th of 1834/4 keys
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 88th of 1923/3 keys
- Peace & Security82nd of 1773/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture98th of 1753/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions134th of 1944/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing144th of 2004/4 keys
- Digital & Technology143rd of 1983/3 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 147th of 1963/3 keys
- Poverty & Inequality121st of 1592/2 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 138th of 1764/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge140th of 1714/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties180th of 1983/3 keys
No standing on Mobility & Trade: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on governance & institutions
The three countries placed highest of 194, and the leaders Laos can most readily be measured against.
1
DenmarkNorthern Europe
1st of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand
2nd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Karora derivative work: Inkey · Public domain, greyscale
3
SwedenNorthern Europe
3rd of 194 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Pieter Kuiper · Public domain, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
Japan=10th4/4 keysHighest in South-eastern Asia
Singapore12th4/4 keysThis page
Laos134th4/4 keys
Positions out of 194 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Laos and governance & institutions
08Questions
Laos on governance & institutions: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Laos rank on governance & institutions?
Laos is placed 134th of 194 countries on Governance & Institutions in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Government Effectiveness, Statistical Performance Indicators, Corruption Perceptions Index and Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Government Effectiveness figure for Laos?
-0.593 in 2025 (governance estimate (−2.5 weak to 2.5 strong)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.101.
What is the latest Statistical Performance Indicators figure for Laos?
60.84 in 2024 (sPI overall score (0–100)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 69.3.
How does Laos compare with China on governance & institutions?
China is placed 125th of 194, and Laos 134th. Government Effectiveness: China 0.624, Laos -0.593; Statistical Performance Indicators: China 57.93, Laos 60.84; Corruption Perceptions Index: China 43, Laos 34; Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index: China 0.03, Laos 0.571.
How have Laos’s governance & institutions figures changed?
Government Effectiveness rose from -0.847 in 2000 to -0.593 in 2025; Statistical Performance Indicators rose from 41.51 in 2016 to 60.84 in 2024; Corruption Perceptions Index rose from 21 in 2012 to 34 in 2025; Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index fell from 0.671 in 2000 to 0.571 in 2025.
Which governance & institutions statistics are missing for Laos?
No current reading is published for Laos on Agriculture Orientation Index, Business Ready: Operational Efficiency, Business Ready: Public Services, Business Ready: Regulatory Framework, General Government Consumption, Government Funding per Primary Student and Public Sector Employment. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Laos, topic by topic
- Economy & Innovation=138th of 176
- Work & Labour52nd of 182
- Education & Knowledge140th of 171
- Health & Wellbeing144th of 200
- Development & Human Capital=147th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability52nd of 181
- Gender & Equality=79th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties180th of 198
- Peace & Security82nd of 177
- Risk & Resilience=88th of 192
- Food & Agriculture98th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality121st of 159
- Energy34th of 193
- Digital & Technology143rd of 198
- The full Laos profile
Nearby, on governance & institutions
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Governance is not democracy. Free elections, civil liberties and press freedom belong to the Democracy & Civil Liberties topic, and a country can place well on one and poorly on the other. How openly official data is published sits here as context, beside the statistical capacity that is a key. Nor does this topic measure the size of government or how much it spends — the share of the economy run by the state is published on this page as context, with no better end.
How the Governance & Institutions standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 30 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2024 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 194 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Government Effectiveness — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Statistical Performance Indicators — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Corruption Perceptions Index — Transparency International, CC BY 4.0 (the data), CC BY-ND 4.0 (the website and report)
- Judicial Constraints on the Executive Index — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 23 statistics on this page come from 10 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Laos’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Laos (banner) — Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
- New Zealand — Karora derivative work: Inkey, Public domain
- Sweden — User:Pieter Kuiper, Public domain
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Laos: Governance & Institutions — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/laos/governance