Imports in Laos
Absent official data, the economy in 2022 likely grew at a similar pace to 2021, supported by looser Covid-19 restrictions and the Laos-China railway. That said, the debt and cost-of-living crises, heavy floods in H2 and a sharp currency depreciation will have tempered growth prospects. Turning to the current year, available data paints a mixed picture. Inflation remained at near-record highs through April. Coupled with 100 basis points of monetary policy tightening in February, this has likely stifled domestic demand. More positively, cross-border economic activity via the Laos-China railway has benefitted from the reopening of the Boten-Mohan international border crossing on 8 January; cargo volumes on the route surged by over 150% year on year between January and April, boding well for the external sector.
Laos Imports Chart
This chart displays Imports (USD billion) for Laos from 2013 to 2022.
Laos Imports Data
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) | 5.7 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 6.3 |