Multi-dimensional Review of Lao PDR

Annex B. Indicators to monitor implementation of recommendations

Table A B.1. Indicators for financing sustainable development in Lao PDR

Chapter	Objective	Key performance indicator	Target	Baseline	Source
Chapter 2: Prosperity: Moving from booming commodities to broad-based opportunities	Increased labour productivity	Annual growth rate of output per worker (as a percentage)	5%	-0.6% (2022)	(Lao Statistics Bureau, 2021[1]), Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 8.2.1*; LSB (2024[2])**; ILO (2024[3])*
Chapter 2: Prosperity: Moving from booming commodities to broad-based opportunities	Increased access to finance	Enterprises using banks to finance investments (as a percentage of firms)	18.4%1	8.6% (2018)	World Bank (2024[4]), Enterprise Surveys**
Chapter 2: Planet: Preserving Lao PDR’s abundant natural wealth and fighting air pollution	Improved air quality	Annual average particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM2.5) concentration (in microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³))	15 µg/m3 (annual mean Lao People’s Democratic Republic2	29.7 μg/m³ (2023)	IQAir (2024[5])*
Chapter 2: Planet: Preserving Lao PDR’s abundant natural wealth and fighting air pollution	Reduced deforestation	Area of current forest3	70%4	57.7% (2019)	FAO (2024[6])*
Chapter 2: People: Making human capital development a priority	Increased quality of education	Average share of grade 6 children in Band 6 or higher in reading, writing and mathematics (as a percentage of the total)	Reading: 29% Writing: 18% Mathematics: 35%5	Reading: 2% (2019) Writing: 6% (2019) Mathematics: 8% (2019)	UNICEF/SEAMEO (2020[7]), SEA-PLM Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics**
Chapter 2: People: Making human capital development a priority	Align public expenditure with national development priorities	Government spending on healthcare and education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)	At or above 4% of GDP	Government expenditure on education (as a percentage of GDP): 1.39% (2022) Current healthcare expenditure (as a percentage of GDP): 2.69% (2020)	World Bank (2024[8])*
Chapter 3: Opportunities and challenges in Lao PDR’s Lao PDR’s sustainable development financing landscape	Restore debt sustainability	Number of debt restructuring agreements announced by the government	At least one debt restructuring agreement with a major creditor		Ministry of Finance (2024[9]); Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2024[10]); (IMF, 2024[11]).
Chapter 3: Opportunities and challenges in Lao PDR’s Lao PDR’s sustainable development financing landscape	Pursue the restructuring of public debt	General government gross debt (as a percentage of GDP)	89.9%6	118.7% (2024)	IMF (2024[12])*
Chapter 3: Opportunities and challenges in Lao PDR’s Lao PDR’s sustainable development financing landscape	Enhance aid and donor co‑ordination	Number of participants from Lao PDR’s major official creditors and development co‑operation providers in the 2024 Round Table Implementation Meeting	At least one representative from each of Lao PDR’s major official creditors and development co‑operation providers		Ministry of Planning and Investment (2024[13])*
Chapter 4: Sustainable fiscal revenue: Improving the mobilisation and use of government revenue	Increase ratio of tax revenue to GDP	Tax revenue as a percentage of GDP	17%7	9.7% (2021)	Ministry of Finance (2024[9]) OECD (2024[14])*
Chapter 4: Sustainable fiscal revenue: Improving the mobilisation and use of government revenue	Increase the size of the formal economy	Proportion of informal employment as a percentage of total employment	78.6%8	90.5% (2022)	(Lao Statistics Bureau, 2021[1]), Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 8.3.1** ILO (2024[15])
Chapter 5: Fostering sustainable investment in Lao PDR	Increase investments in non-natural resource sectors	Investments in non-natural resource sectors (as a percentage of GDP) (investment in sectors other than the energy, agricultural and mining sectors)	7.5%	2.29% (2021)	Investment Promotion Department (2021[16])*
Chapter 5: Fostering sustainable investment in Lao PDR	Improve predictability and stability, thus enhancing confidence for investors	Rule of Law indicator (estimate)	0.099	-0.81 (2022)	World Bank (2023[17])*
Chapter 5: Fostering sustainable investment in Lao PDR	Increased access to transport	Paved roads (as a percentage of total road length)	63%10	23% (2022)	ASEAN (2023[18]), Statistics Data Portal*
Chapter 5: Fostering sustainable investment in Lao PDR	Increased land registration	Land plots that are formally registered (as a percentage of total land plots)	70%11	40% (2023)	Department of Land, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) (2023[19]); World Bank (2024[8])*
Chapter 5: Fostering sustainable investment in Lao PDR	Improved investment climate	Foreign direct investment (FDI) Regulatory Restrictiveness Index score	0.06412	0.192 (2020)	OECD (2024[20])*
Chapter 6: Strengthening environment statistics to support sustainable development	Develop Lao PDR’s carbon finance potential	Issuance of a Decree on carbon markets	At least one decree on carbon markets issued
Chapter 6: Strengthening environment statistics to support sustainable development	Develop Lao PDR’s carbon finance potential	Sales value of forest carbon credits	>USD 95 million (United States dollars)13	USD 33.5 million (2019)	Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2024[21])
Chapter 6: Strengthening environment statistics to support sustainable development	Improve availability of environmental indicators	Number of available14environmental indicators from the 9th NSEDP, the National Green Growth Strategy and the SDGs	60/60	21/60 (2022)	LSB (2024[22]); Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2024[21])*
Chapter 6: Strengthening environment statistics to support sustainable development	Enhance the sharing and harmonisation of environment statistics across the National Statistical System (NSS)	Number of standardised formats15 used in order to share environmental data with the LSB and within the NSS			LSB (2024[23])*

Note: ^* Reported annually. ^**.Reported every five years.

1. Target set from average of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (World Bank, 2024[4]).

2. Target set from Lao PDR PM_2.5 air quality standard.

3. “Current forest” (Lao PDR forest classification) includes evergreen forest, mixed-deciduous forest, coniferous forest, mixed-coniferous and broadleaf forest, and plantations (FAO, 2021[24]).

4. Target set in the 9^th Five-year national Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025) (Government of Lao PDR, 2021[25]).

5. Target set from the average of six countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Viet Nam) (UNICEF/SEAMEO, 2020[7]).

6. Target set in (IMF, 2023[26]).

7. Target set in the 9^th Five-year national Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025) (Government of Lao PDR, 2021[25]).

8. Target from average of ASEAN member states (2022) (ILO, 2024[15]).

9. Target set from average of ASEAN member states (World Bank, 2023[17]).

10. Target set from average of ASEAN member states (ASEAN, 2023[18]).

11. Target set by the World Bank’s Enhancing Systematic Land Registration Project (World Bank, 2022[27]).

12. Target set from average of OECD member countries (OECD, 2024[20]).

13. Target set in the 9^th Five-year national Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025) (Government of Lao PDR, 2021[25]).

14. Total available environmental indicators out of the total number of environmental indicators in the 9th NSEDP, the National Green Growth Strategy and the SDGs.

15. “Standardised formats” refers to a structure for organising and presenting data in a consistent and uniform manner across different systems and organisations.

References

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[24] FAO (2021), What is the forest area of Lao People’s Democratic Republic?, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, https://www.fao.org/documents/card/fr/c/CB3000EN.

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[26] IMF (2023), Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; And Statement by the Executive Director for Lao PDR, International Monetary Fund, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2023/05/22/Lao-People-s-Democratic-Republic-2023-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-533636.

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[1] Lao Statistics Bureau (2021), Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, https://www.lsb.gov.la/sdg/en/ (accessed on 20 March 2024).

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[9] Ministry of Finance (2024), Website, https://www.mof.gov.la/index.php/en/home/ (accessed on 20 March 2024).

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[7] UNICEF/SEAMEO (2020), “SEA-PLM 2019 Main Regional Report, Children’s learning in 6 Southeast Asian countries”, https://www.unicef.org/eap/media/7356/file/SEA-PLM%202019%20Main%20Regional%20Report.pdf (accessed on 23 March 2024).

[4] World Bank (2024), Enterprise Surveys, https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/enterprisesurveys (accessed on 20 March 2024).

[8] World Bank (2024), World Development Indicators (database), https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators (accessed on 20 March 2024).

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[27] World Bank (2022), Enhancing Systematic Land Registration Project, World Bank, Vientiane office, https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P169669 (accessed on 20 March 2024).