The services sector, especially in the least developed countries, also faces the challenges created by the informal nature of many service activities, which could perpetuate poverty and increase the vulnerability of the poor. The country passed the thresholds for gross national income per capita and the human assets index at the 2018 review. If that country sustains its development gains and meets the criteria again in 2021, it will qualify for removal from the list in 2024. In the context of structural transformation, the Lao People's Democratic Republic may have to face more intense competition from other labour-surplus countries in low-end, assembly-type production than that confronted by the early industrializers, especially in a more globalized economy.