The Model Index
World/Asia
AI access, cost and use · South-eastern Asia · Asia · data read 1 Oct 2026

Lao People's Democratic Republic

In Lao People's Democratic Republic, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 33% of the median living standard, 42 times the share it takes in the United States; for 97% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 66% of people use the internet.

33%of the median living standard for a $20 planAsia median 13% · United States 0.79%
97%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 7.6 m people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
66%of people use the internetworld 74% · 7.9 m people

The figuresLao People's Democratic Republic

People7.9 m
Median living standard$723a year per person · consumption
A $20 plan takes33%of that · 42× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth97%of people
Survey2024revalued at 2024 prices
GNI per person$2,150plan is 11% of it
Claude use per personnot reported
Notable AI models built here0

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against Asia and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureLao People's Democratic RepublicAsiaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard33%13%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth97%72%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person11%3.9%2.9%
People using the internet66%76%74%
Claude use per working-age personnot reported0.43×1.00×
Notable AI models built02831,256

NeighboursSouth-eastern Asia · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
Malaysia36 m98%5.6%21%0.87×3 of 3
Thailand72 m91%11%56%0.73×3 of 3
Viet Nam102 m84%14%73%0.53×3 of 3
Indonesia286 m73%27%93%0.46×3 of 3
Philippines117 m67%27%94%0.44×3 of 3
Lao People's Democratic Republic7.9 m66%33%97%not reported3 of 3
Myanmar55 m45%no estimate–not reported2 of 3
Cambodia18 m68%no estimate–0.21×3 of 3
Singapore6.1 m94%no estimate–5.81×3 of 3
Timor-Leste1.4 m35%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
Brunei Darussalam466k96%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsLao People's Democratic Republic against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
66%world 74%
People with electricity
96%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
65world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
2.7world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
15%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
0.04%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
16world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
302world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗