Laos healthcare statistics show substantial variation across services. WHO/UNICEF estimates place 2023 coverage at 81% for the third pneumococcal conjugate vaccine dose, 83% for the third polio dose, and 80% for the first measles-containing vaccine dose. UNICEF Lao PDR country data also report 66% care-seeking for acute respiratory infection among under-5 children, 68% oral rehydration solution treatment for childhood diarrhoea, and 7% cesarean-section delivery.
Contents
- Recent immunization estimates
- Immunization trends since 2012
- Vaccination evidence in the 2023 survey details
- Child illness treatment and prevention
- Malaria-net access
- Birth registration and delivery care
Recent immunization estimates
The WHO/UNICEF immunization coverage: Lao PDR 2023 revision reports estimated national coverage for several vaccine indicators. These are estimates for the named year, rather than counts of doses administered.
In 2023, PCV3 estimated coverage was 81%. PCV3 is the third dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, so this figure describes completion of that three-dose series. Pol3 estimated coverage was higher at 83%. MCV1 estimated coverage was 80%, referring to the first dose of measles-containing vaccine.
The three 2023 estimates therefore sit within a three-percentage-point range: 80% for MCV1, 81% for PCV3, and 83% for Pol3. The difference is relatively small in that single year, but the longer series shows that the indicators did not move in exactly the same way over time.
Immunization trends since 2012
The WHO/UNICEF revision provides annual estimates for Pol3 and MCV1 from 2012 through 2023, and for PCV3 from 2014 through 2023. Reading the series year by year helps distinguish longer-term gains from later declines and rebounds.
Pol3 estimated coverage was 76% in 2012 and 82% in 2013. It then reached 83% in 2014, 2015, and 2016, followed by 84% in 2017 and 85% in 2018. The estimate fell to 80% in 2019, 78% in 2020, 74% in 2021, and 69% in 2022. In 2023, it rose to 83%.
MCV1 estimated coverage was 69% in 2012 and 78% in 2013. It was 81% in each of 2014, 2015, and 2016, then increased to 86% in 2017 and 2018. The estimate was 83% in 2019, 79% in 2020, and 73% in 2021. It recovered to 76% in 2022 and 80% in 2023.
PCV3 begins in 2014 at 60%. Its estimated coverage increased to 74% in 2015, 78% in 2016, 82% in 2017, and 84% in 2018. It then declined to 81% in 2019, 77% in 2020, and 74% in 2021. The estimate returned to 78% in 2022 and 81% in 2023.
| Indicator | Earlier estimate | Highest listed estimate | 2023 estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCV3 | 60% in 2014 | 84% in 2018 | 81% |
| Pol3 | 76% in 2012 | 85% in 2018 | 83% |
| MCV1 | 69% in 2012 | 86% in 2017 and 2018 | 80% |
The table compares the first available year in the supplied series with the highest listed estimate and the 2023 estimate. It does not represent a single cohort followed over time. Each percentage is the WHO/UNICEF estimate for its stated year.
Vaccination evidence in the 2023 survey details
The same WHO/UNICEF source includes 2023 survey details for children aged 12–23 months. These measures separate vaccination documented on a card from vaccination reported through history, which makes them different from the annual estimated-coverage series above.
DTP1 card-or-history coverage was 76.8%. Within that figure, card-only coverage was 44.6% and history-only coverage was 32.2%. DTP1 is the first dose in the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis series.
For DTP3, card-or-history coverage was 55.5%. Card-only coverage was 36.8%, while history-only coverage was 18.6%. The DTP3 card-or-history figure is therefore lower than the corresponding DTP1 measure in these survey details, indicating that fewer children were documented or reported as having reached the third dose than the first dose.
The survey details also report HepB1 card-or-history coverage of 76.8% and HepB3 card-or-history coverage of 55.5%. The source presents these as coverage measures among children 12–23 months in the 2023 survey details. They should not be silently substituted for the WHO/UNICEF annual estimates of Pol3, MCV1, or PCV3, because the indicators and measurement formats differ.
The card and history breakdown is useful for interpreting the documentation behind the headline coverage. For DTP1, the 76.8% card-or-history measure consists of 44.6% card-only and 32.2% history-only. For DTP3, the corresponding components are 36.8% card-only and 18.6% history-only. These categories describe how vaccination status was established in the survey details; they are not additional children to add to the headline percentages.
Child illness treatment and prevention
UNICEF Lao PDR country data report that 66% of under-5 children with acute respiratory infection were taken for care. This is an ARI care-seeking rate, not a measure of diagnosis, treatment success, or the share of all children who experienced respiratory infection.
For under-5 children with diarrhoea, the UNICEF country data report an oral rehydration solution treatment rate of 68%. ORS treatment is a specific intervention indicator. It does not describe every form of diarrhoea care or establish whether treatment was received promptly.
The same UNICEF source reports DTP3 coverage among surviving infants at 67%. This is a separate UNICEF country-data indicator from the WHO/UNICEF annual Pol3 estimate and from the 2023 survey-detail DTP3 measures. The figures should therefore be read with their source labels and definitions attached.
UNICEF also reports measles second-dose coverage among children at 66%. This is not the same as MCV1 coverage, which the WHO/UNICEF 2023 revision estimates at 80% for 2023. One measure concerns a second measles dose, while the other concerns the first measles-containing vaccine dose.
Together, the child-health indicators show different levels across prevention and treatment: 66% ARI care-seeking, 68% diarrhoea ORS treatment, 67% UNICEF DTP3 coverage among surviving infants, and 66% measles second-dose coverage. They are not a single composite healthcare score, and no average should be inferred from them.
Malaria-net access
UNICEF Lao PDR country data report two insecticide-treated-net indicators for Laos. Among under-5 children, 21% were sleeping under an insecticide-treated net the previous night. At the household level, 26% of households had at least one insecticide-treated net.
These percentages measure different circumstances. The 21% figure describes observed or reported use by under-5 children on the previous night, whereas the 26% figure describes household possession of at least one net. A household can possess a net without every child sleeping under one, so the indicators should not be treated as interchangeable.
The difference between the two reported rates is five percentage points, but that difference is only a direct comparison of the supplied percentages. It does not quantify the reasons for non-use, the number of nets per household, or protection on other nights.
Birth registration and delivery care
UNICEF Lao PDR country data report that 65% of children under age 5 had their births registered. This indicator concerns civil registration among young children; it is not a measure of birth attendance, facility delivery, or access to postnatal care.
The same UNICEF country data report a cesarean-section delivery rate of 7%. This is a delivery-mode indicator. It does not by itself show the quality of obstetric care, the proportion of deliveries attended by trained personnel, or whether a cesarean was medically necessary.
The registration and delivery figures describe different parts of the healthcare and civil-status system: 65% for birth registration among children under 5 and 7% for cesarean-section delivery. Because their populations and definitions differ, subtracting one from the other would not produce a meaningful healthcare measure or service-access rate.
For readers comparing Laos healthcare statistics, the measurement label matters as much as the percentage. The WHO/UNICEF figures above are annual immunization estimates or 2023 survey details, while the ARI, ORS, malaria-net, DTP3, measles, birth-registration, and cesarean figures are identified as UNICEF Lao PDR country data. Keeping the source, population, indicator, and period attached prevents the different measures from being combined into an unsupported ranking.