Lao PDR - Surface area (sq. km)

The value for Surface area (sq. km) in Lao PDR was 236,800 as of 2018. As the graph below shows, over the past 57 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 236,800 in 2018 and a minimum value of 236,800 in 1961.

Definition: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.

See also:

Year Value
1961 236,800
1962 236,800
1963 236,800
1964 236,800
1965 236,800
1966 236,800
1967 236,800
1968 236,800
1969 236,800
1970 236,800
1971 236,800
1972 236,800
1973 236,800
1974 236,800
1975 236,800
1976 236,800
1977 236,800
1978 236,800
1979 236,800
1980 236,800
1981 236,800
1982 236,800
1983 236,800
1984 236,800
1985 236,800
1986 236,800
1987 236,800
1988 236,800
1989 236,800
1990 236,800
1991 236,800
1992 236,800
1993 236,800
1994 236,800
1995 236,800
1996 236,800
1997 236,800
1998 236,800
1999 236,800
2000 236,800
2001 236,800
2002 236,800
2003 236,800
2004 236,800
2005 236,800
2006 236,800
2007 236,800
2008 236,800
2009 236,800
2010 236,800
2011 236,800
2012 236,800
2013 236,800
2014 236,800
2015 236,800
2016 236,800
2017 236,800
2018 236,800

Development Relevance: Total surface area is particularly important for understanding an economy's agricultural capacity and the environmental effects of human activity. Innovations in satellite mapping and computer databases have resulted in more precise measurements of land and water areas. Population, surface area, income, and output are basic measures of the size of an economy. They also provide a broad indication of actual and potential resources. Land area is therefore used as one of the major indicator to normalize other indicators.

Limitations and Exceptions: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through annual questionnaires. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. The data collected from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Total land area includes inland water bodies such as major rivers and lakes. Variations from year to year may be due to updated or revised data rather than to change in area.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Land use