Lao PDR Agriculture Value Added

Lao PDR’s agriculture value added has contracted sharply over the past three decades, falling from an all‑time peak of 51.85 percent of GDP in 1997 to an all‑time trough of 14.87 percent in 2022, before modestly rebounding to 16.32 percent in 2025, ranking 46th globally. The 37‑year series shows a persistent decline that mirrors the country’s structural shift toward services and industry, yet the recent uptick suggests a tentative re‑orientation toward the sector. Compared with regional peers, Lao PDR’s 2025 figure is slightly below Cambodia’s 16.60 percent and Bhutan’s 16.05 percent, indicating a similar but marginally weaker performance in agricultural contribution. The long‑term downward trajectory reflects limited productivity gains, land fragmentation, and vulnerability to climate variability. Continued investment in modern agronomy, irrigation, and market access could stabilize the sector and potentially reverse the decline, while adverse weather patterns or policy setbacks would likely sustain the current modest growth path.