What is the currency of Laos?

The currency of Laos is the Lao kip.

The kip is Laos’s official monetary unit, with the international code LAK and the symbol ₭. It is issued by the Bank of the Lao P.D.R. and is divided into 100 att, although att coins and other small denominations have little practical use because of inflation and low purchasing values.

The modern kip emerged in 1952, when Laos was still associated with French Indochina. A later Pathet Lao kip circulated in areas controlled by the revolutionary movement. After the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established in 1975, the monetary system was reorganized and the current kip became the country’s national currency.

Kip banknotes commonly display national symbols, historic leaders and scenes from Lao life. Travelers sometimes mistake the currency for the Thai baht because Thailand borders Laos and baht are accepted in some tourist areas, but the baht is not Laos’s official currency. Vietnamese đồng and Cambodian riel are also neighboring currencies, not substitutes for the Lao kip.