Laos has officially launched the issuance of a digital identity to its eight million residents, two months after it started a limited rollout in the capital, Vientiane.
Announcing the rollout, the Ministry of Public Security said the government had now expanded the issuance countrywide, and Laotians can now apply at hundreds of designated locations. This includes provincial public security departments and local municipal offices. The ministry has deployed additional trained personnel to assist with the enrollment.
To register, citizens must present an existing national ID card, their household registration book (used to record a person’s legal residence and family membership), and a passport ID if available, reports the Laotian Times.
The rollout is the culmination of a campaign that started in July 2024 when Laotian president Thongloun Sisoulith pledged to work with Vietnam and Japan to advance its digital transformation. Digital identity was identified as a pillar of this campaign.
In May 2025, Sisoulith announced that his government would launch a digital ID infrastructure to underpin the new system and secure citizens’ data. Two months later, he ordered the Ministry of Public Security to start the rollout, and in October, a limited phase began in Vientiane. Vietnam and Japan co-funded the initiative.
Digital ID is at the heart of digital transformation in Laos, and at the second National Symposium on Social Protection, government officials and policymakers reiterated its importance to the nation’s digital economy. Funded by the United Nations and the International Labor Organization (ILO), the event highlighted the country’s National Social Protection Strategy 2020–2025, its achievements, and the transition to a new five-year roadmap.
Laos’ UN Resident Coordinator lauded the country’s adoption of emerging tech to support its social protection systems, which are the “foundation for resilience, equity, and sustainable development.”
For Laos, supporting its digital economy could have a more significant benefit than in its Southeast Asian peers. Laos’ digital economy accounts for a smaller portion of the overall gross domestic product (GDP), compared to countries like the Philippines and Singapore. According to one estimate, it generated $170 million in 2024.
Laos joins dozens of countries rushing to issue citizens with a digital identity. They include Estonia with its vastly successful e-ID, India’s Aadhaar system, and the United Arab Emirates with its UAE Pass.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/laos-rolls-out-digital-id-with-support-from-japan-vietnam/
