Laos
LAOLaos generates no gas electricity at all, in a region built on it.
65% of grids in Asia draw more than a tenth of their power from gas.
What this grid depends on
Three measures that say more about a country than how much power it makes. Open “what this means” on any of them if the term is new.
Cleaner than 7 in 10 grids worldwide.
What this means
How much planet-warming gas is released to make one unit of electricity. Two countries can generate exactly the same amount and one of them be ten times dirtier doing it. Lower is better.
Laos generates a surplus and sells it on.
What this means
The share of what this country generates that is sold abroad rather than used at home. A country can only export if it produces more than it needs, which usually means plentiful hydro, nuclear or wind.
Also true of Laos
Laos' electricity is cleaner than the world average.
232 grams of CO2e a kilowatt-hour against a world figure of 458 — 49% below.
Laos has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
Low-carbon electricity went from 63% to 77% in 5 years.
Laos is first in ASEAN for hydro.
Hydro supplies 76% of its electricity.
Laos’s neighbours
MyanmarMyanmar has about as many people as South Korea, and 30 times less electricity to share between them.
CambodiaCoal overtook hydro on Cambodia's grid in 2023.
ThailandThailand is third in Asia for bioenergy.
VietnamVietnam uses far more electricity per person than countries at its income level.
ChinaChina is first in the world for how much electricity it makes.
Figures are for 2024, the most recent year reported for Laos. Generation shares are a percentage of electricity generated, not of energy used. How this is calculated.