About NSEDP

By 2055 — the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party — the Lao PDR will have striven to become an upper-middle-income developing country moving closer to high-income status, a nation where the people are prosperous and content and society is united, democratic, just and civilised. The economy will grow rapidly, solidly and strongly along a sustainable, self-reliant path, effectively integrated and connected with the region and the world; the digital economy, the green economy, the knowledge and innovation economy, and the circular economy will be strongly developed; and the country will have a modern economic structure. The Lao PDR will have become the green-energy hub of Southeast Asia; a destination for world-heritage, cultural and eco-tourism, and a highly attractive health and wellness retreat in Asia; and a producer of agricultural goods that are highly competitive within the region. The country will have a coherent, modern infrastructure system that efficiently links its economic centres, urban areas, regions and localities, serving as a cross-border logistics hub among ASEAN countries and across the region. Urban areas will be developed to be modern, green, clean and distinctive in character, becoming centres of science, technology and innovation and a driving force for the region’s development, with the urbanisation rate reaching more than 50%. Rural areas will be developed along green lines, tied to agriculture, ecosystems, sustainability and high value. The natural environment will be protected, the country will adapt effectively to climate change, and it will strive to achieve its target of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions.

• The 10-Year Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2026–2035)

By 2035, the Lao PDR will have striven to become an upper-middle-income country. It will maintain macroeconomic stability and safeguard the economy’s key balances, and it will raise the quality of its institutions, systems and regulations and the capacity of public administration. The country will transform the model underpinning its economic growth, driving science and technology, digitalisation and green transformation and developing a skilled workforce; its self-reliant economic base will be strengthened, alongside more effective integration and connectivity with regional and global markets. The Lao PDR will raise high the spirit of determination to develop with vigour, building a society that is democratic, civilised and prosperous, and it will improve the material and spiritual well-being of its people across the board. Natural resources will be managed, developed and used efficiently and sustainably, the natural environment will be protected, and the country will adapt to climate change. Political stability and social peace will be maintained, and the nation’s standing and credibility on the international stage will be raised.

The 10th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026–2030) is an important document prepared by the Government of the Lao PDR to set out the country’s development directions and targets for the five-year period. The Plan defines the approach for driving the economic and social development of the nation, its sectors and its localities. In particular, it emphasises approaches to economic and financial development, the development of human resources, and the promotion of the efficient and full utilisation of technology and natural resources, together with good governance and administration, so as to ensure that development proceeds along a green and sustainable path.

The 10th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026–2030) builds on the progress made under the 9th Plan. It continues to move the country towards a high-quality, orderly graduation from Least Developed Country status, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the delivery of the Green Growth Strategy. In doing so, it carries out the Resolution of the 12th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the 10-Year National Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2026–2035) and the Development Vision to 2055. Its central task is to put Politburo Resolution No. 04/PBCC on building a self-sufficient economy in the new era into real practice, and to drive the Four Breakthroughs forward through three urgent measures. The first is to reform the way the state works — updating laws, mechanisms and regulations and building a more capable, effective public administration. This effort is anchored in digital transformation and in giving greater authority to local levels, and it aims to make investing and doing business simpler, faster and more transparent. The second is to draw out the determination and energy of the people to build a strong nation. It fosters a spirit of self-reliance so that citizens and businesses can prosper, while raising the quality of the country’s human resources; together, these lay the foundations of a self-sufficient economy that can meet the nation’s development needs and connect with the wider world. The third is to manage the country’s resources better — extracting and using them more efficiently, especially minerals, energy and land; strengthening transparency; curbing corruption and waste; and increasing state revenue. The aim is to generate the means and the momentum for development that is fast, green and sustainable.

The 10th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026–2030) is the final five-year plan, and it carries a decisive role in continuing to give effect to the Government’s development vision to 2030 — to create a new turning point in the Lao PDR’s development, lifting the country to an upper-middle-income developing country along a knowledge-based, green and sustainable socio-economic path, with national income per capita more than four times its 2015 level, with strong pillar industries and economic infrastructure for industrialisation and modernisation, and with the socialist-oriented market economy implemented more systematically. It lays out the country’s development priorities — 7 directions, 6 major outcomes and 26 priority outputs — along with the targets and key projects of the 10th Plan. A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, with a clear set of indicators, will help drive implementation and track progress over the five years. A Financing Strategy identifies concrete funding sources, together with the methods and measures for mobilising funds from a range of sources to support delivery of the Plan.