Country Comments

The average woman in Laos at the turn of the century was having just under five children. Today that number has been cut almost in half to 2.7. Even with annual emigration of approximately 14,000 citizens in recent times Laos’ population has increased by over 100,000 citizens every year for the past ten years. In just the past year Laos has reached its carrying capacity based on its citizens consumption of goods and production of wastes.

Mongabay reported that slash-and-burn agriculture, uncontrolled fires, commercial and illegal logging, and fuelwood collection resulted in the loss of 6.8 percent of the country's forests between 1990 and 2005. With the prospect of expanded mining operations in Laos, there is considerable concern over the environmental impact. Clear-cutting and the use of chemicals, especially mercury and cyanide, can cause severe ecological damage. (1)

In Laos 15% of the married women want to postpone or prevent having a child, yet most are not using contraceptives to achieve this. Literature shows that usage of contraceptives is strongly dependent on the quality of family planning services. However, little is known about the quality of family planning services in Laos. (2)

With above replacement birth rates the country will be living unsustainably going forward without greater effort in empowering women and providing family planning.

(1) https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20laos.htm

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7480436/