Thailand (THA) and Laos (LAO) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Thailand-Laos Trade: In 2023, Thailand exported $4.64B to Laos. The main products that Thailand exported to Laos were Refined Petroleum ($1.23B), Raw Sugar ($244M), and Cars ($141M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Thailand to Laos have increased at an annualized rate of 1.87%, from $4.23B in 2018 to $4.64B in 2023.

In 2023, Thailand did not export any services to Laos.

Laos-Thailand Trade: In 2023, Laos exported $2.99B to Thailand. The main products that Laos exported to Thailand were Electricity ($1.95B), Cassava ($332M), and Broadcasting Accessories ($83.7M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Laos to Thailand have increased at an annualized rate of 2.19%, from $2.68B in 2018 to $2.99B in 2023.

In 2023, Laos did not export any services to Thailand.

Comparison: In 2023, Thailand ranked 29 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.96), and 25 in total exports ($332B). That same year, Laos ranked 107 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.89), and 108 in total exports ($8.7B).

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2023, Thailand exported $4.64B to Laos. The main products exported from Thailand to Laos were Refined Petroleum ($1.23B), Raw Sugar ($244M), and Cars ($141M). During the last 5 years the exports of Thailand to Laos have increased at an annualized rate of 1.87%, from $4.23B in 2018 to $4.64B in 2023.

In 2018, Laos exported $2.99B to Thailand. The main products exported from Laos to Thailand were Electricity ($1.95B), Cassava ($332M), and Broadcasting Accessories ($83.7M). During the last 5 years the exports of Laos to Thailand have increased at an annualized rate of 2.19%, from $2.68B in 2023 to $2.99B in 2018.

Exports from Thailand () to Laos () (2023)

Exports from Laos () to Thailand () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Thailand () and Laos ()

Thailand Exports

Date

Laos Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Thailand
Top DestinationUnited States$58.5B

Laos
Top DestinationChina$3.41B

This map shows whether countries import more from Thailand or Laos. Each country is colored based on the difference in imports they receive from Thailand and Laos or the difference in the growth in imports.

In 2023, countries that imported more from Thailand than Laos included United States ($58.5B), China ($44.1B), and Japan ($24.9B).

In 2023, no countries were registered that imported more from Laos than from Thailand.

Difference in imports from Laos () and Thailand () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Thailand - Laos

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

This chart compares trade between Thailand and Laos by product, considering products traded by both, Thailand and Laos.

During 2023, Thailand had a large net trade with Laos in the exports of Mineral Products ($1.4B), Foodstuffs ($784M), and Machines ($503M).

During 2018, Laos had a large net trade with Thailand in the exports of Mineral Products ($2.05B), Vegetable Products ($426M), and Machines ($187M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Thailand Laos+$17.9MComputers

Top Product Potential Laos Thailand+$87.1MGold

We estimate the export potential of an economy for each product and destination using an extension of the bilateral relatedness model of Jun et al. (2019).This extended gravity model considers similarities among products and geographies and explains more than 50% of the variance in future trade flows.

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Year

This visualization shows the product space at the HS4 level with the flags of Thailand and Laos. This means that a dot/product with the flag of Thailand indicates it has a comparative advantage over Laos. Similarly, a dot/product with the flag of Laos indicates it has a comparative advantage over Thailand.

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Exports from Thailand () to Laos () (2023)

Exports from Laos () to Thailand () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Thailand () and Laos ()

Thailand Exports

Laos Exports

Market Competitiveness

Difference in imports from Laos () and Thailand () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Thailand - Laos

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Product Space of Thailand () and Laos () (2023)

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