Tai-Kadai · ISO 639-3 lao · lo
Lao Language ລາວ
Lao is a Tai-Kadai language spoken by about 5.2 million people in 1 country. It is an official language of Laos. It is written in the Lao script.
Where Lao is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Lao
Language family
- Tai-Kadai
- Kam-Tai
- Daic-Beic
- Daic
- Central-Southwestern Tai
- Wenma-Southwestern Tai
- Sapa-Southwestern Tai
- Southwestern Tai
- Southwestern Thai PH
- Lao-Thai
- Lao
Writing system
Lao script
Related languages
About the Lao language
Lao (ລາວ) is spoken by about 5.2 million people, which makes it the 179th most spoken language in the world — just behind Pedi (5.3 million) and ahead of Halh Mongolian (5.2 million). It belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family and, more precisely, to the Lao-Thai group within the Daic-Beic branch.
Where is Lao spoken?
Lao is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Laos (5.5 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Laos — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Lao is an official language in 1 country: Laos.
Writing system and status
Lao is written in the Lao script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Thai, Northeastern Thai, Southern Thai, Northern Thai, Shan, Tai Dam and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-1 lo, ISO 639-3 lao.
Frequently asked questions about Lao
How many people speak Lao?
Where is Lao spoken?
In which countries is Lao an official language?
What language family does Lao belong to?
What is Lao called in Lao?
Is Lao an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.