UK FCDO
Level 2Updated information on flooding risks during periods of heavy rain (‘Safety and security’ page).
Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Source
Last update: August 17, 2026
Updated dailyIs It Safe to Travel to Laos Right Now?
Exercise caution
7 6.6 out of 10
Safety Score
Last updated: August 17, 2026 82% data coverage
Laos has a safety score of 6.6/10 as of August 17, 2026, rated as Moderate risk and ranking 125th out of 248 countries worldwide. The biggest concern is governance (3.6/10), while the strongest area is conflict (7.7/10). This score is calculated daily from 40+ independent public sources.
What are the safety risk areas?
Governance 3.6/10
Environment 5.5/10
Crime 6.5/10
Health 6.6/10
Conflict 7.7/10
Indicator-level detail
Governance 3.6/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| vdem rule of law | 3.5/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| vdem gov effectiveness | 3.9/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| vdem corruption control | 2.3/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| inform governance | 3.5/10 | inform | 2026 |
Environment 5.5/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 60%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| wb air pollution | 7.4/10 | worldbank | 2023 |
| inform natural | 6.4/10 | inform | 2026 |
| inform climate | 1.8/10 | inform | 2026 |
Crime 6.5/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 50%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| gpi safety security | 7.1/10 | gpi | 2026 |
Health 6.6/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| wb child mortality | 8.5/10 | worldbank | 2024 |
| inform health | 9.2/10 | inform | 2026 |
| inform epidemic | 3.5/10 | inform | 2026 |
Conflict 7.7/10 · Low · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| gpi overall | 7.2/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| gpi militarisation | 8.0/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| ucdp conflict deaths | 10.0/10 | ucdp | 2025 |
Community Sentiment
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What do governments say?
Sources (10)
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Level 2Let op, veiligheidsrisicos
Updated: Jul 24, 2026
Source
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to travel to Laos in 2026?
Yes, but with caution — Laos is moderately safe: as of August 2026 it scores 6.6/10 on our daily safety index, classified as Moderate risk. Most trips are trouble-free, but some risks deserve attention.
The score is an uncertainty-weighted (Bayesian shrinkage) geometric mean of five pillars — conflict (30%), crime (25%), health (20%), governance (15%) and environment (10%) — combined with a calibrated consensus of government travel advisories, so a weak pillar drags the overall score down more than a strong one lifts it, and thin or stale data pulls a country's score toward a cautious regional baseline rather than guessing. conflict (7.7/10) is Laos's strongest pillar, while the score is pulled down by environment (5.5/10) and above all by governance (3.6/10).
This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong. It is recalculated every day from public sources including government travel advisories, the Global Peace Index, the INFORM Risk Index and World Bank indicators.
What is the biggest risk when traveling to Laos?
The main concern for Laos is governance, its weakest pillar at 3.6/10. This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
The lowest-scoring signals here are control of corruption (V-Dem) and rule of law (V-Dem). The second-lowest area is environment at 5.5/10, so it deserves attention too.
By contrast, conflict scores 7.7/10 and is Laos's strongest area.
What do government travel advisories say about Laos?
As of August 2026, Laos has 10 government travel advisories on record. The prevailing guidance is to exercise increased caution when visiting Laos; the strongest current warning — reconsider travel — comes from Serbia.
How does Laos compare to nearby countries?
| Country | Score | Conflict | Crime | Health | Governance | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 8.7 | 8.1 |
| Japan | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 5.1 |
| South Korea | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 5.4 |
| Bhutan | 8.0 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.4 |
| Laos | 6.6 | 7.7 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 3.6 | 5.5 |
Laos and its neighbouring countries
Related Countries
Similar safety scores
How has the safety score changed over time?
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Where does the data come from?
- advisoriesFresh
Travel advisories from 37 governments worldwide including US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Slovakia, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Finland, Hong Kong, Brazil, Austria, Philippines, Belgium, Denmark, Singapore, Romania, Serbia, Estonia, Croatia, Argentina, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, China, India, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Portugal
Checked: Aug 17, 2026
- gpiFresh
Global Peace Index -- annual peacefulness ranking by IEP
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Aug 17, 2026
- informFresh
INFORM Risk Index -- hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Aug 16, 2026
- ucdpFresh
UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) -- state-based and one-sided conflict deaths, via the Our World in Data mirror (CC-BY)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Aug 17, 2026
- vdemFresh
V-Dem Institute Country-Year Dataset v16 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) -- Rule of Law, Political Corruption, and Public Administration indices (Coppedge et al., DOI 10.23696/vdemds26)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Aug 17, 2026
- worldbankRecent
World Bank Development Indicators -- child mortality and PM2.5 air pollution
Data vintage: 2023–2024Checked: Aug 17, 2026