2025 PHC success: How the first ever digital census transforms the statistical system of Laos  

It is late Friday evening on the outskirts of Vientiane. The two-lanes road is packed with people heading home for the weekend but on the third floor of the Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB), a team is still at work.
Inside the quiet and cool office, Head of the Central Census Office, Mr Lienthong Souphany, and two staff members are huddled around a laptop. Their eyes are fixed on a digital dashboard. As one team member scrolls from the northern peaks of Phongsaly down to the southern reaches of Attapeu, another notes the real-time data flashing on the screen.
“We are tracking the progress of the nationwide data collection in real-time,” explains Mr Lienthong. “This system allows us to see exactly how the work is progressing so that we can keep everything on track.”

This “real-time monitoring system” is one of the key features of the 2025 Population and Housing Census (PHC) which is the first-ever digital census in Laos. This development marks a major shift from a paper-based to a modernised census, which will transform the way how population and demographic data is collected, stored, and used in Laos.
After four years of preparation under the strong leadership of the Government of Laos, and with technical support from UNFPA and development partners including Australia, China, Switzerland, Luxembourg, USA, Germany, World Bank, UN agencies, Laos launched the nationwide field data collection of the 2025 PHC on November 3, 2025.
During this eight-week period, more than 12,000 trained enumerators were deployed across the country. In a major development compared to the past census, they swapped paper forms for tablets equipped with smart interviewing software. This allowed data to be synced instantly to a secure central server at the LSB, giving the management team a “live” view of the census progress.
In the previous census, the reliance on paper forms created a significant time lag between data collection and analysis. Millions of physical documents had to be transported from different parts of the country including remote areas to a centre in town, where they were manually coded and entered into databases—a process prone to human error and physical damage. By contrast, the 2025 digital approach utilises tablets that feature built-in validation checks. This ensures that information is verified at the point of entry, preventing inconsistent or missing data before the enumerator even leaves the household.

Under the paper-based system, supervisors often had to wait weeks to identify bottlenecks or errors in the field. With the new real-time monitoring system, the Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB) can track the progress of over 12,000 enumerators through GPS-tagged submissions and instant syncing. This “live” visibility allows for immediate troubleshooting and quality control, ensuring that the census is not only faster but significantly more accurate than any previous effort.
By December 28, the field data collection reached 3.6 million buildings, achieving 99 percent of the counting target. To ensure no one was left behind, a follow-up mission revisited over 3,500 areas in early 2026 to reach those who might have been missed.
Deputy Head of the Socio-Economic Statistics Department, LSB, Mr Vilaysook Sisoulath,  describes the 2025 census as the most advanced operation in Lao history.
“Unlike the old paper-based methods, we now use satellite imagery and digital maps to identify every household,” he says. “This technology makes it much easier for our teams to locate homes and reach their targets. It also makes the work trackable; if we see progress slowing down in a specific area, we can immediately advise local committees to provide extra support,” he said.
Head of the LSB, Mrs Phetsamone Sone, notes that the 2025 census is about more than just numbers, and that it is the baseline for the country’s next five-year development plan (2026–2030).
“I remember our last census ten years ago,” she recalls. “We had to print millions of paper questionnaires and transport them to every remote village. It took weeks just to get a progress update. Today, that lag time is gone. This digitalisation makes our data collection faster, more accurate, and much more efficient.”
Mrs Phetsamone, who is also a member of the National Assembly,emphasises that this achievement was built on a foundation of strong partnership. She credited the strong ownership of the Lao government alongside the technical financial assistance from UNFPA and development partners.
UNFPA Representative Dr Bakhtiyor Kadyrov said that the success of the 2025 census was possible thanks to the strong partnership between the government, UNFPA, development partners, and relevant stakeholders.
“A census is not just about numbers; it is about people. The data generated from the census will inform policies designed to improve the well-being of people, ensure everyone benefits from growth, and ensure that no one is left behind,” he said.
After four years of preparation, the 2025 Census has moved from the field to the analysis and reporting phase. The knowledge and technology gained during this first digital census have transformed the statistical landscape of Laos. It has built a strong foundation for the census modernisation in Laos to generate high quality data so the country can use the finding as reference to shape a bright future for Laos where no one is left behind.
--Source: UNFPA

(Latest Update April 6, 2026)