Ecuador vs Laos
Ecuador is 9% larger than Laos.
EcuadorLaosEcuador moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.09×
Ecuador is 1.09× the area of Laos.
 Ecuador |  Laos | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEcuador: 1.09× the area | 257,204 km²#76 of 194 | 236,800 km²#82 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEcuador: 2.32× the population | 18,289,896#71 of 194 · 2025 | 7,873,046#103 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEcuador: 2.14× the density | 71 / km²#114 of 194 | 33 / km²#146 of 194 |
| Urban populationEcuador: 1.57× the urban share | 63%#95 of 192 · 2025 | 40%#149 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLaos: 1.33× the births per woman | 1.81 per woman#106 of 192 · 2024 | 2.40 per woman#77 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLaos: 0.47 points higher | +0.85%#105 of 192 · 2025 | +1.32%#74 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLaos: 1.41× the birth rate | 14.8 per 1,000#101 of 192 · 2024 | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLaos: 1.19× the death rate | 5.2 per 1,000#166 of 192 · 2024 | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Laos: 5.9 points higher | 23.9%#100 of 192 · 2025 | 29.8%#70 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Ecuador: 3.8 points higher | 8.6%#87 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationEcuador: 0.5 per 1,000 higher | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 | −1.4 per 1,000#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLaos: 2.65× the refugees for its size | 0.31 per 1,000#86 of 190 · 2025 | 0.82 per 1,000#64 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEcuador: 8.4 years longer | 77.6 years#63 of 192 · 2024 | 69.2 years#136 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLaos: 2.5× the infant mortality | 10.9 per 1,000 births#106 of 191 · 2024 | 27.2 per 1,000 births#53 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEcuador: 7.0× the doctors per person | 2.31 per 1,000#78 of 178 · 2020 | 0.33 per 1,000#135 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentEcuador: 4.56× the university enrolment | 67.9%#49 of 145 · 2023 | 14.9%#122 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexEcuador: 0.160 higher | 0.777#87 of 190 · 2023 | 0.617#144 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaEcuador: 3.2× the income per person | $6,890#96 of 185 · 2025 | $2,150#147 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPEcuador: 7.12× the economy | $130.32B2025 | $18.3B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Ecuador: 1.61× the output per person | $16,757#103 of 184 · 2025 | $10,383#125 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLaos: 0.8 points higher | +3.7%#81 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationLaos: 7.0 points higher | +0.7%#149 of 176 · 2025 | +7.7%#31 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEcuador: 2.75× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 1.2%#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyLaos: 2.09× the share in extreme poverty | 3.4%#62 of 149 · 2025 | 7.1%#49 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Ecuador: 11.2 higher | 45.9#12 of 149 · 2025 | 34.7#73 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureLaos: 36.1 points higher | 32.5% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 | 68.6% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEcuador: 9.2 points higher | 16.6% of jobs#122 of 178 · 2025 | 7.4% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesEcuador: 26.9 points higher | 50.9% of jobs#114 of 178 · 2025 | 24.0% of jobs#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLaos: 6.7 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | 7.7% of GDP#23 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 2.1% of GDP#56 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersEcuador: 1.18× the share online | 77%#104 of 184 · 2024 | 66%#128 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEcuador: 1.57× the mobile subscriptions | 102 per 100#125 of 191 · 2024 | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLaos: 1.14× the forest share | 50% of land#50 of 192 · 2024 | 57% of land#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personLaos: 1.27× the CO₂ per person | 2.64 t a year#89 of 185 · 2024 | 3.35 t a year#79 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLaos: 30.3 points higher | 18.9%#112 of 190 · 2021 | 49.2%#50 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityEcuador: 2.0 points higher | 98.5%#116 of 192 · 2024 | 96.5%#124 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Laos: 1.4× the air pollution | 18.6 µg/m³#93 of 191 · 2023 | 26.0 µg/m³#61 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEcuador: 5.0 points higher | 23.8% of land#53 of 191 · 2025 | 18.8% of land#88 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landLaos: 1.6 points higher | 3.7% of land#142 of 190 · 2024 | 5.3% of land#127 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEcuador: 1.42× the water stress | 6.8%#107 of 176 · 2022 | 4.8%#120 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEcuador: 1.24× the rain and snow | 2,274 mm#23 of 180 · 2022 | 1,834 mm#38 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityLaos: 1.19 higher | −0.64#151 of 193 · 2025 | +0.55#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEcuador: 0.25 higher | −0.74#136 of 193 · 2025 | −0.99#155 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 45.7 per 100,000#4 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | — | ASEAN |
| Capital | Quito | Vientiane |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Lao kip (LAK) |
| Official languages | Spanish, Northern Quichua, Shuar | Lao |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5 · UTC−6 to UTC−5, 2 time zones | UTC+7 |
| Calling code | +593 | +856 |
| Region | South 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. Ecuador sits at about 1° S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Laos at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Ecuador bigger than Laos?
- Yes. Ecuador is 9% larger than Laos. Ecuador covers 257,204 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Ecuador?
- About 1.1 times: Ecuador has 1.09× the area of Laos.
- Why do Ecuador and Laos look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ecuador is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Laos about 1.11×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Ecuador or Laos?
- Ecuador: 18,289,896 people against 7,873,046. Density: Ecuador 71 per km², Laos 33 per km².
- Which is richer, Ecuador or Laos?
- By gross national income per person, Ecuador: $6,890 against $2,150 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.2× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Ecuador or Laos?
- In Ecuador: life expectancy at birth is 77.6 years, against 69.2 — 8.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Ecuador and Laos have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Ecuador: presidential republic; Laos: one-party state.