Competitiveness challenges as labor productivity lags in Laos

VIENTIANE, Laos - The labor force is cheap and this makes the country a competitive investment destination. But this perception may no longer be accurate as the World Bank's data has revealed that the productivity of the Lao workforce is much lower than that of neighboring nations.

According to the 2018 enterprise survey, which was released recently, the median level of labor productivity in Laos is about $4,600.

This figure is about 10 percent lower than the figure for Cambodia and less than half that of Vietnam.