Human development (HD) is about the real freedom ordinary citizens have to decide who to be, what to do, and how to live. HD is an integral part of fundamental human rights and the ultimate aim of sustainable and inclusive development.

The 5th National Human Development Report (NHDR) examines different facets of underdevelopment in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) that classify it as a Least Developed Country (LDC). To a great extent, the Human Asset criterion and its indicators used for LDC classification are the same as those that categorize a country’s level of HD. In the continuum of HD, LDC graduation is one of the early milestones a country has to reach. Improving HD is essential for smoothly moving out of LDC status. Therefore, the LDC graduation process has to be viewed from the perspective of HD.