Defence spending
US$22.68m
0.1% of GDPGDP 2026
2013 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
FORCETALLY
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South-Eastern Asia · Military profile
Laos country profile with source-backed equipment operators and dated national observations. The linked records retain their published sources and reference years.
01 / National data
Military, personnel and economic indicators
2013 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
97 matching equipment types
| Equipment | Laos |
|---|---|
| Support aircraft | |
| Antonov An-26 | 1Air Force · 2025 1Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | In service |
| Xi'an MA60 | 2Air Force · 2025 2Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 |
| Xi'an MA600 | 2Air Force · 2025 2Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025 |
| Trainer aircraft | |
| Hongdu JL-8 | 4Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Yakovlev Yak-130 | 42024 |
| Helicopters | |
| Harbin Z-9 | 4Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Kamov Ka-27 | 2Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mil Mi-17 | 17Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mil Mi-8 | In service |
| Equipment | Laos |
|---|---|
| Tanks | |
| PT-76 | 10Army · 2025 |
| T-54/T-55 | 15Army · 2025 |
| T-72 | 502020Wikipedia |
| Armoured vehicles | |
| BMP-1 | ≥10Army · 2025 |
| BRDM-2 | 202019Wikipedia |
| BTR-152 | 20Army · 2025 |
| BTR-40 | 102000Wikipedia |
| BTR-60 | 702000Wikipedia |
| Cadillac Gage Commando | In service |
| WZ-551 | In service |
| Artillery | |
| 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) | 202026Wikipedia |
| 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) | In service |
| Equipment | Laos |
|---|---|
| Air defence | |
| 9K35 Strela-10 | In service |
| S-125 Neva/Pechora | In service |
| ZSU-23-4 Shilka | In service |
| Anti-aircraft guns | |
| 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) | In service |
| AZP S-60 | In service |
| ZPU | In service |
| ZU-23-2 | In service |
| Portable air defence | |
| 9K32 Strela-2 | In service |
| Equipment | Laos |
|---|---|
| Small arms | |
| 9A-91 | In service |
| AK-12 | In service |
| AK-47 | In service |
| AK-74 | In service |
| AKM | In service |
| AMD-65 | In service |
| Degtyaryov machine gun | In service |
| DShK | In service |
| IWI Galil ACE | In service |
| KPV heavy machine gun | In service |
| M16 rifle | In service |
| M1917 Enfield | In service |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
04 / Data record
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 8,052,913 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
National full-time active military personnel; the separately reported reserve, gendarmerie and paramilitary totals are excluded.
2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate.
Annual nominal GDP at current market prices, in source-reported current US dollars. Excludes purchasing-power-parity GDP and real GDP growth. Explicit 2026 economic-table year column; USD 17.8bn. The table was compiled in the November 2025 IISS assessment; this annual figure is an assessment/estimate and does not assert a final audited outturn. The explicit 2026 column is forward-looking relative to the November 2025 assessment and is retained as a forecast, not an observed final outturn.
2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count.
Military reserve personnel in the 2024 IISS source edition cited by this Wikipedia row. Reservists are not normally kept under arms and are available for mobilisation. Excludes the separately reported Active military and Paramilitary columns. This is the cited edition year, not an exact census date.
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