VIENTIANE, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Laos faces the challenge of shifting away from commodity-driven growth to a more inclusive prosperity model that prioritizes human capital development and green sustainability, according to a report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The report, which was launched here on Thursday, noted Laos' significant development progress over the past years.
Sustained economic growth of over 7 percent annually between 2000 and 2019 was led by booming commodity exports and substantial inflows of external financing, notably from large investment projects in hydropower, mining, and transport, local Pasaxon newspaper reported on Friday.
The country experienced an increase in foreign direct investment inflows between 2006 and 2017, from 187.4 million U.S. dollars to 1.69 billion dollars.
Extreme poverty fell from 25 percent to 7 percent, household income increased, and many important development gains in education and health were achieved, said the report. ■
