Lao People's Democratic Republic

National Assembly

Political system
Communist system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Sapha Heng Xat (National Assembly)
Chamber name
Sapha Heng Xat (National Assembly)
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1956 to 1974
from 1990
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Asia-Pacific Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the National Assembly
Speaker
Xaysomphone Phomvihane (Male)
Date of birth: 12 Dec 1956
Term
22 Mar 2021
Additional information

Elected on 22 March 2021.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Amphaivone Lombounpheng (Female)
Term
07 May 2024
Notes

Appointed on 7 May 2024.

Members

Statutory number of members
164
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
164
Current number of members
164
Men
128
Women
36
Percentage of women
22.0%
Statutory number of members per country
164
Population (in thousands)
7,665
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
46,738

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
53.4
(2021-03)
Youngest member
Thanongsith Meuangchan (Male)
Youngest member (years)
35
Oldest member
Chaleun Yiapaoher (Male)
Oldest member (years)
69
Number of members, by age (2021-03)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 3 10 20 85 10 0 0 0 128
Female 0 0 1 6 8 20 1 0 0 0 36
Totals per age interval 0 0 4 16 28 105 11 0 0 0 164
Total <= 45: 20 Total >= 46: 144
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
2.4% 2% 0.6%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
12.2% 8% 4.3%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No
Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
No information available
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
No information available
Constitution
No information available

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No