The report was prepared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR to prepare a brief report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country. Substantive inputs from the United Nations (UN) system agencies in Lao PDR and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office were included to provide relevant context and policy recommendations.

Unless otherwise noted, the data is sourced from the official Global SDG database1 hosted by the United Nations. Section 2 provides a trend assessment of the Goals, including an overview of Goal 18. Section 3 analyses the situation in six transition areas and recommends actions to accelerate progress. Finally, Section 4 provides an overview of data availability.