Laos’ inflation rate rose to 7.8 percent in September, up from 7.7 percent in August, with education, utility, and some seasonal costs contributing to the increase, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The latest increase came as the new school year began, with education costs rising 18.8 percent from a year earlier. Families also faced higher costs for tuition, uniforms, and textbooks.
The biggest increase came in housing, water, electricity, and cooking gas, where prices rose 30.7 percent from a year earlier. Transportation and communication costs also increased, while health and medicine became more expensive.
Officials attributed September’s increase to higher fuel prices, adjustments to education costs, and seasonal price increases.
Inflation Averages...
Laos’ inflation rate rose to 7.8 percent in September, up from 7.7 percent in August, with education, utility, and some seasonal costs contributing to the increase, according to the...
The pork shortage is putting pressure on Vientiane’s meat markets as African swine fever (ASF) spreads across Laos and authorities restrict the movement of pigs and pork.
State media have...
Attapeu authorities have detailed five years of corruption investigations and financial irregularities, including a major treasury case involving more than LAK 90 billion (USD 4 million) in payments made...
Lao migrant workers sent an estimated USD 500.7 million back to Laos during the first seven months of 2026, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
The ministry...
Vietnam has become Laos's second-largest foreign investor, with more than 400 projects worth a combined USD 8 billion approved, according to the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vietnam ranks second...
Laos and China have launched a new digital payment link that allows Chinese visitors to pay Lao businesses using China’s digital yuan, without needing to exchange cash into Lao...
Khammouane has signed a concession agreement worth more than USD 1.2 million to develop a stretch of land in Ban Pha Laem, Thakhek District, into a new nature tourism destination called Khounnamphone.
The provincial committee signed the agreement with KK Tourism Development Sole Co., Ltd. on 23 September. The company already operates several attractions in the province, including Tha Farang, Vang Sikham, Xiangliap Cave, and The Lotus Camp Resort.
The project will divide the site into 20 zones over the next 50 years. Five zones will support tourism development, while 15 will remain conservation areas.
The project has a total investment value of USD 1,207,350, including USD 500,000 in registered capital. The...
Laos expects to welcome between 5 and 6 million international tourists in 2026, with Chinese visitors projected to account for around 2 million of that total, according to government estimates.
The numbers will be...
Laos hosted the Mekong Tourism Forum 2025 in Luang Prabang from 24 to 27 June, spotlighting the proposed ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor (ARTC) as a key initiative to boost regional travel and connectivity.
Held...
A section of hillside collapsed beneath a workers’ residential camp at the Pak Beng hydropower project in northern Laos at 1 AM on 28 September, burying or damaging several buildings, according to an eyewitness account from the scene.
The slope collapsed below worker housing in Pak Khaen village, Ngeun District, on the Xayaboury side of the Mekong River near the border with Oudomxay Province.
Photographs from the site widely shared on social media show several dormitory-style buildings with white walls and...
Laos is preparing to compete in 12 sports at the 14th ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur next October.
The Lao team has proposed entering athletics, swimming, powerlifting, boccia, women’s goalball, men’s blind football,...
Laos continues working to develop chess among younger generations.
A group of young Lao players has returned from Singapore with 12 medals after gaining international experience against competitors from across Asia and beyond.
Team Laos...
Cats spend much of their day sleeping, stretching in the sun, at times hunting, or just watching the world go by. For a group of Lao artists, those habits have become the inspiration for art.
Life feels busier than ever, and Laos is no exception. Seven artists in Laos have turned to cats to explore what many people seem to be searching for today: a little more freedom, self-acceptance and joy in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
Their exhibition, Like a Cat's Tiny Life, running until 31 July at The Tamper Coffee & Studio in Vientiane, brings together paintings, illustrations and photography that ask a simple question: what can people learn from slowing down?
Why Cats?
“All seven of us wanted to create a small space filled with warmth through stories about cats. We wanted people to experience life through the artists’ small perspectives on cats,” artist Fanta Keomanila told The Laotian Times.
For him, cats represent independence.
He described them as animals that follow their own way, sleeping and resting when they choose and finding happiness in simple moments such as watching birds or lying in the warm sun, rather than conforming to...
