🇱🇦 Lao People's Democratic Republic (ລາວ)
Visiting: Risky
Laos carries real risks. Its best measures are only mid-range: LGBT rights are limited, ranking 73rd, and there is some exposure to conflict, at 79th. Its weak spot is freedom, which is tightly restricted, placed 155th. Women's safety is fair, road deaths are moderate and violent crime is common, with all three ranking between 118th and 124th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Laos: 6.3
Ranked 57th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Six killings per 100,000 people a year is a touch above the world average, which is where the risky tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. The rate sits just above the world average, on the WHO's estimate — Laos reports nothing itself.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Laos: 16.4
Ranked 61st in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Sixteen deaths per 100,000 people a year is just above the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe on a motorbike, which is two-thirds of the deaths. In a car or bus a visitor is mostly out of it.
Conflict
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Laos: 1.37
Ranked 79th least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
No conflict death is recorded in Laos in the last five years. The last one the Uppsala conflict database has was in October 2006.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. Nothing reaches a visitor anywhere in the country.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Laos: 2.31
Ranked 26th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Laos due process is rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection if anything goes wrong. Total 4 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A one-party state with no organised opposition, no independent civil society and no independent media. Courts offer no protection, and civil liberties are harshly restricted. Say nothing political.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Laos: 4.7
Ranked 73rd most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Never criminalised in the modern code, with no recognition or protections. Law and opinion both score in the high forties.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Quietly tolerant in practice, with no crackdowns, small visible events in Vientiane and the usual family pressures.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Laos: 6.71
Ranked 63rd least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
No attacks on women are recorded and partner violence is eight percent. The courts rate poorly for women, and only 56 percent of women feel safe out alone at night.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care as a woman travelling alone in Laos.