Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho

Lesotho

UN memberSub-Saharan Africa, Africa

Locate on Earth — opens the globe, focused on Lesotho. This page does not load a map.

Population

2.38 million

2026 · UN WPPProjection

GDP

$2.57 billion

2025 · World Bank WDIActual

GDP / capita

$1,089

2025 · World Bank WDIActual

HDI

0.550 index (0–1)

2023 · UNDP HDRActual

Life expectancy

58.6 years

2026 · UN WPPProjection

Area

30,360 km²

2023 · World Bank WDIActual

UN WPP 2024 Revision (estimates through 2023; 2024–2100 medium-variant projections). World Bank WDI, 13 July 2026 release. UNDP HDR HDR 2025. UNESCO UIS UIS February 2026. ILOSTAT ILOSTAT December 2025. IMF WEO WEO April 2026. OWID CO₂ OWID CO₂ December 2025.

Overview

Lesotho is a UN member state in Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa.

Every figure names its source, year, and whether it is an actual value, an estimate, or a projection. Missing values stay missing.

ISO alpha-2: LS
ISO alpha-3: LSO
UN M49: 426
Wikidata: Q1013

People

Population stocks and demographic rates are from the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium variant unless another source is named. Years from 2024 onward are projections.

PopulationProjection: 2.38 million
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population (1 July)Projection: 2.39 million
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population growth rateProjection: 1.1 percent
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population densityProjection: 78.7 persons per km²
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s density is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 73.1 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 90.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Median ageProjection: 22.1 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s median age is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 19 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 29.8 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Population sex ratioProjection: 95.2 males per 100 females
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Total fertility rateProjection: 2.6 live births per woman
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s tfr is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 3.7 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 2 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Crude birth rateProjection: 23.1 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Net number of migrantsProjection: −4,876
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Net migration rateProjection: −2 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Urban population: 44.7%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s urban is close to Sub-Saharan Africa median of 45.3% (48 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of 63.4% among 194 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Population ages 0–14: 34.1%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Population ages 15–64: 62%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Population ages 65 and above: 3.9%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s ages 65+ is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 3.3% (48 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of 7.4% among 194 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.

Population of Lesotho. Solid line: estimates (1950–2023). Dashed line: medium-variant projections (2024–2100). UN WPP, WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium.

Data table

Year	Population	Status
1950	574,455	estimate
1960	725,512	estimate
1970	1 million	estimate
1980	1.39 million	estimate
1990	1.79 million	estimate
2000	2 million	estimate
2010	1.99 million	estimate
2020	2.22 million	estimate
2030	2.48 million	projection
2040	2.75 million	projection
2050	2.98 million	projection
2060	3.16 million	projection
2070	3.27 million	projection
2080	3.31 million	projection
2090	3.31 million	projection
2100	3.26 million	projection
2101	3.26 million	projection

Age structure of Lesotho as a share of population. World Bank WDI, World Development Indicators.

Data table

Year	Ages 65+	Status
1960	4.5% aged 65+	actual
1965	4.2% aged 65+	actual
1970	4% aged 65+	actual
1975	3.7% aged 65+	actual
1980	3.8% aged 65+	actual
1985	4% aged 65+	actual
1990	4.1% aged 65+	actual
1995	4.3% aged 65+	actual
2000	4.5% aged 65+	actual
2005	4.7% aged 65+	actual
2010	4.2% aged 65+	actual
2015	3.9% aged 65+	actual
2020	3.8% aged 65+	actual
2025	3.9% aged 65+	actual

Economy

National accounts and related World Bank series. Totals are not comparable as “averages” across countries; rates such as GDP per capita include same-year cohort medians where coverage allows.

Gross domestic product: $2.57 billion
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
GDP per capita: $1,089
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s gdp / capita is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of $1,521 (46 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of $7,411 among 181 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GDP, PPP: Int’l $7.53 billion
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
GDP per capita, PPP: Int’l $3,184
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s gdp / capita (ppp) is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of Int’l $4,644 (46 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of Int’l $20,089 among 180 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GDP growth: 2 percent
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s gdp growth is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 4.6 (46 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of 3.2 among 181 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GNI per capita: $1,280
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s gni / capita is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of $1,480 (46 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of $7,360 among 179 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Inflation, consumer prices: 4.3 percent
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s inflation is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 3.4 (40 profiles with 2025 data), and above the median of 3 among 162 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Unemployment, totalProjection: 16.4 percent of labour force
2026 · ILOSTAT · Projection · ILOSTAT modelled estimates (annual)
Lesotho’s unemployment is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 5.1 (47 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 5.1 among 178 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Trade: 154 percent of GDP
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Access to electricity: 60.6%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Individuals using the Internet: 51.8%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Labour force participation rateProjection: 56.9 percent of population ages 15+
2026 · ILOSTAT · Projection · ILOSTAT modelled estimates (annual)
Lesotho’s lfpr is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 64 (46 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 62 among 174 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Employment-to-population ratioProjection: 47.5 percent of population ages 15+
2026 · ILOSTAT · Projection · ILOSTAT modelled estimates (annual)
Youth unemployment rateProjection: 24.8 percent of labour force ages 15–24
2026 · ILOSTAT · Projection · ILOSTAT modelled estimates (annual)
General government net lending/borrowingProjection: 4.2 percent of GDP
2026 · IMF WEO · Projection · World Economic Outlook April 2026
General government gross debtProjection: 49 percent of GDP
2026 · IMF WEO · Projection · World Economic Outlook April 2026

GDP of Lesotho in current US dollars. World Bank WDI, World Development Indicators.

Data table

Year	GDP	Status
1960	$34.6 million	actual
1965	$54.9 million	actual
1970	$68.7 million	actual
1975	$150 million	actual
1980	$432 million	actual
1985	$269 million	actual
1990	$596 million	actual
1995	$1 billion	actual
2000	$887 million	actual
2005	$1.68 billion	actual
2010	$2.23 billion	actual
2015	$2.36 billion	actual
2020	$2.05 billion	actual
2025	$2.57 billion	actual

Development

Human development indices are published only from the latest UNDP HDR series. This build does not invent a substitute index.

Human Development Index: 0.550 index (0–1)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Lesotho’s hdi is close to Sub-Saharan Africa median of 0.558 (48 profiles with 2023 data), and below the median of 0.762 among 192 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index: 0.357 index (0–1)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Lesotho’s ihdi is close to Sub-Saharan Africa median of 0.359 (46 profiles with 2023 data), and below the median of 0.609 among 168 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Gender Development Index: 1.006 index (female-to-male HDI ratio)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Lesotho’s gdi is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 0.923 (44 profiles with 2023 data), and above the median of 0.971 among 183 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Gender Inequality Index: 0.534 index (0–1)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Lesotho’s gii is close to Sub-Saharan Africa median of 0.526 (43 profiles with 2023 data), and above the median of 0.352 among 172 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Multidimensional Poverty Index: No comparable data
No internationally comparable figure in this build.

Health and education

Life expectancy and mortality are UN WPP series unless labelled otherwise. Education figures are UNESCO UIS (CC BY-SA, isolated) where a comparable series exists; otherwise they stay missing.

Life expectancy at birthProjection: 58.6 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s life expectancy is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 65.2 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 74.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Crude death rateProjection: 10.2 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Life expectancy at birth (male)Projection: 55.8 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s life exp. male is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 63 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 70.9 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Life expectancy at birth (female)Projection: 61.3 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s life exp. female is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 67.7 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 77.4 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Infant mortality rateProjection: 51.3 per 1,000 live births
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s infant mortality is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 33.9 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 11.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Under-five mortality rateProjection: 65.2 per 1,000 live births
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Lesotho’s u5mr is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 46.8 (51 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 12.9 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Maternal mortality ratio: 478 per 100,000 live births
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Immunization, measles: 90%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s measles immunization is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 81% (48 profiles with 2024 data), and close to median of 90% among 192 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Current health expenditure: 12.6 percent of GDP
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s health expenditure is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 4.4 (48 profiles with 2023 data), and above the median of 5.8 among 170 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Prevalence of undernourishment: No comparable data
No internationally comparable figure in this build.
Adult literacy rate: 90.4%
2024 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Lesotho’s adult literacy is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 77% (7 profiles with 2024 data), and below the median of 94.2% among 30 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Youth literacy rate: 96.5%
2024 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Mean years of schooling: 8 years
2024 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Lesotho’s mean years school is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 7.7 (7 profiles with 2024 data), and below the median of 9.8 among 28 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
School life expectancy: 11 years
2017 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)

Life expectancy at birth in Lesotho. Dashed line marks medium-variant projections. UN WPP, WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium.

Data table

Year	Years	Status
1950	44.6	estimate
1960	50.2	estimate
1970	51.5	estimate
1980	56.5	estimate
1990	59.3	estimate
2000	48.8	estimate
2010	46	estimate
2020	55.1	estimate
2030	60.2	projection
2040	63.4	projection
2050	66	projection
2060	68.1	projection
2070	69.9	projection
2080	71.6	projection
2090	73.2	projection
2100	74.7	projection

Environment

Forest cover is World Bank WDI. CO₂ is the Global Carbon Project series via Our World in Data — not IEA-EDGAR.

Land area: 30,360 km²
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Surface area: 30,360 km²
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Forest area: 1.1%
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Lesotho’s forest is below the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 22.4% (48 profiles with 2023 data), and below the median of 31.8% among 194 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
CO₂ emissions: 2.6 million tonnes
2024 · OWID / Global Carbon Project · Actual · OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project)
CO₂ emissions per capita: 1.1 tonnes per person
2024 · OWID / Global Carbon Project · Actual · OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project)
Lesotho’s co₂ / capita is above the Sub-Saharan Africa median of 0.4 (49 profiles with 2024 data), and below the median of 2.8 among 192 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.

CO₂ emissions of Lesotho. Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data. OWID / Global Carbon Project, OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project).

Data table

Year	Million tonnes	Status
1990	1.5	actual
1993	1.6	actual
1996	1.7	actual
1999	1.8	actual
2002	1.9	actual
2005	2	actual
2008	2.1	actual
2011	2.8	actual
2014	2.2	actual
2017	2.3	actual
2020	2	actual
2023	2.5	actual
2024	2.6	actual

Geography

Region: Africa
Subregion: Sub-Saharan Africa
Intermediate region: Southern Africa
Natural Earth ADM0_A3: LSO
Cartographic size: Tiny state on the 50m globe (point or small polygon)

Outline from Natural Earth 50m Admin 0. Made with Natural Earth. Not a locator map.

Government

Classification is descriptive and is not a recognition of legal claims.Map and status policy.

Status: UN member
Publication tier: Core profile
UN LDC: Least developed country
Landlocked: Landlocked developing country

Sources

United Nations World Population Prospects

WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium. Vintage 2024 Revision. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Population (2026, projection; series TPopulation1Jan)
Life expectancy at birth (2026, projection; series LEx)
Population (1 July) (2026, projection; series TPopulation1July)
Population growth rate (2026, projection; series PopGrowthRate)
Population density (2026, projection; series PopDensity)
Median age (2026, projection; series MedianAgePop)
Population sex ratio (2026, projection; series PopSexRatio)
Total fertility rate (2026, projection; series TFR)
Crude birth rate (2026, projection; series CBR)
Crude death rate (2026, projection; series CDR)
Life expectancy at birth (male) (2026, projection; series LExMale)
Life expectancy at birth (female) (2026, projection; series LExFemale)
Infant mortality rate (2026, projection; series IMR)
Under-five mortality rate (2026, projection; series Q5)
Net number of migrants (2026, projection; series NetMigrations)
Net migration rate (2026, projection; series CNMR)

World Bank World Development Indicators

World Development Indicators. Vintage 13 July 2026. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Gross domestic product (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.CD)
GDP per capita (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.PCAP.CD)
Land area (2023, actual; series AG.LND.TOTL.K2)
GDP, PPP (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD)
GDP per capita, PPP (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD)
GDP growth (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG)
GNI per capita (2025, actual; series NY.GNP.PCAP.CD)
Inflation, consumer prices (2025, actual; series FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG)
Trade (2025, actual; series NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS)
Maternal mortality ratio (2023, actual; series SH.STA.MMRT)
Immunization, measles (2024, actual; series SH.IMM.MEAS)
Current health expenditure (2023, actual; series SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS)
Urban population (2025, actual; series SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS)
Population ages 0–14 (2025, actual; series SP.POP.0014.TO.ZS)
Population ages 15–64 (2025, actual; series SP.POP.1564.TO.ZS)
Population ages 65 and above (2025, actual; series SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS)
Surface area (2023, actual; series AG.SRF.TOTL.K2)
Access to electricity (2024, actual; series EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS)
Individuals using the Internet (2024, actual; series IT.NET.USER.ZS)
Forest area (2023, actual; series AG.LND.FRST.ZS)
Alternate: Population (2025, actual; series SP.POP.TOTL)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.IN)
Alternate: Population growth rate (2025, actual; series SP.POP.GROW)
Alternate: Population density (2023, actual; series EN.POP.DNST)
Alternate: Total fertility rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.TFRT.IN)
Alternate: Crude birth rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.CBRT.IN)
Alternate: Crude death rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.CDRT.IN)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (male) (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (female) (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN)
Alternate: Infant mortality rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.IMRT.IN)
Alternate: Under-five mortality rate (2024, actual; series SH.DYN.MORT)
Alternate: Net number of migrants (2025, actual; series SM.POP.NETM)
Alternate: Unemployment, total (2025, actual; series SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS)

UNDP Human Development Report

HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series. Vintage HDR 2025. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Human Development Index (2023, actual; series hdi)
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (2023, actual; series ihdi)
Gender Development Index (2023, actual; series gdi)
Gender Inequality Index (2023, actual; series gii)
Alternate: Mean years of schooling (2023, actual; series mys)
Alternate: School life expectancy (2023, actual; series eys)

ILOSTAT

ILOSTAT modelled estimates (annual). Vintage ILOSTAT December 2025. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Unemployment, total (2026, projection; series UNE_2EAP_SEX_AGE_RT)
Labour force participation rate (2026, projection; series EAP_2WAP_SEX_AGE_RT)
Employment-to-population ratio (2026, projection; series EMP_2WAP_SEX_AGE_RT)
Youth unemployment rate (2026, projection; series UNE_2EAP_SEX_AGE_RT)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics

UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026). Vintage UIS February 2026. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Adult literacy rate (2024, actual; series LR.AG15T99)
Youth literacy rate (2024, actual; series LR.AG15T24)
Mean years of schooling (2024, actual; series MYS.1T8.AG25T99)
School life expectancy (2017, actual; series SLE.1T8)

IMF World Economic Outlook

World Economic Outlook April 2026. Vintage WEO April 2026. IMF data terms. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

General government net lending/borrowing (2026, projection; series GGXCNL_NGDP)
General government gross debt (2026, projection; series GGXWDG_NGDP)
Alternate: Gross domestic product (2026, projection; series NGDPD)
Alternate: GDP per capita (2026, projection; series NGDPDPC)
Alternate: GDP growth (2026, projection; series NGDP_RPCH)
Alternate: Inflation, consumer prices (2026, projection; series PCPIPCH)

Our World in Data (Global Carbon Project)

OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project). Vintage OWID CO₂ December 2025. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

CO₂ emissions (2024, actual; series co2)
CO₂ emissions per capita (2024, actual; series co2_per_capita)

Names, classifications, and boundaries are for statistical and cartographic use and do not constitute recognition of legal claims.