Canada vs Laos
Canada is 42.2 times larger than Laos. Laos would fit into Canada about 42 times.
CanadaLaosCanada moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
42.2×
Canada is 42.2× the area of Laos.
 Canada |  Laos | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 42.2× the area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 236,800 km²#82 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCanada: 5.29× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 7,873,046#103 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityLaos: 7.97× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 33 / km²#146 of 194 |
| Urban populationCanada: 2.06× the urban share | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | 40%#149 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLaos: 1.92× the births per woman | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | 2.40 per woman#77 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLaos: 0.38 points higher | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | +1.32%#74 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLaos: 2.35× the birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCanada: 1.27× the death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Laos: 14.8 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 29.8%#70 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 15.5 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 9.2 per 1,000 higher | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | −1.4 per 1,000#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLaos: 82× the refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.82 per 1,000#64 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 12.9 years longer | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | 69.2 years#136 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLaos: 5.79× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 27.2 per 1,000 births#53 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCanada: 8.55× the doctors per person | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | 0.33 per 1,000#135 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentCanada: 5.12× the university enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | 14.9%#122 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexCanada: 0.322 higher | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | 0.617#144 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaCanada: 26.2× the income per person | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | $2,150#147 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCanada: 127× the economy | $2.32T2025 | $18.3B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Canada: 6.43× the output per person | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | $10,383#125 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLaos: 2.8 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationLaos: 5.6 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +7.7%#31 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentCanada: 5.75× the unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | 1.2%#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyLaos: 23.7× the share in extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | 7.1%#49 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Laos: 3.2 higher | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | 34.7#73 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureLaos: 67.5 points higher | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | 68.6% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryCanada: 11.3 points higher | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | 7.4% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 56.1 points higher | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 24.0% of jobs#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLaos: 4.7 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | 7.7% of GDP#23 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersCanada: 1.44× the share online | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | 66%#128 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsCanada: 1.45× the mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLaos: 1.35× the forest share | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | 57% of land#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 4.18× the CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | 3.35 t a year#79 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLaos: 25.4 points higher | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 | 49.2%#50 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityCanada: 3.5 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 96.5%#124 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Laos: 3.94× the air pollution | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | 26.0 µg/m³#61 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landLaos: 5.9 points higher | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | 18.8% of land#88 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landLaos: 1.0 points higher | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | 5.3% of land#127 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressLaos: 1.3× the water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | 4.8%#120 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLaos: 3.42× the rain and snow | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | 1,834 mm#38 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCanada: 0.26 higher | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | +0.55#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 2.58 higher | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | −0.99#155 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | ASEAN |
| Capital | Ottawa | Vientiane |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | Lao kip (LAK) |
| Official languages | English, French | Lao |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones | UTC+7 |
| Calling code | +1 | +856 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | South-Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; Laos at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. That difference is why Canada looks so much bigger than it is next to Laos. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Canada bigger than Laos?
- Yes. Canada is 42.2 times larger than Laos. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Canada?
- About 42 times: Canada has 42.2× the area of Laos.
- Why do Canada and Laos look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Canada is drawn about 4.1× its true area there and Laos about 1.11×. That is why Canada looks so much bigger than it really is next to Laos. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Canada or Laos?
- Canada: 41,651,653 people against 7,873,046. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², Laos 33 per km².
- Which is richer, Canada or Laos?
- By gross national income per person, Canada: $56,420 against $2,150 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 26.2× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Canada or Laos?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 69.2 — 12.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Canada and Laos have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Canada: constitutional monarchy; Laos: one-party state.