Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Lesotho: key statistics
Lesotho has 2.4m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $1,089. Below: 79 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Maseru
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Income group
- Lower-middle income
- Currency
- rand, loti ZAR · LSL
- Languages
- English, Sesotho
- ISO codes
- LSLSO
- Land neighbours
- South Africa
Population2.4m2025 · rank 144 of 217GDP$2.6bn2025 · rank 185 of 211GDP per capita$1,0892025 · rank 196 of 211Life expectancy57.8 yrs2024 · rank 213 of 217Internet users51.8%2024 · rank 147 of 188Fertility2.662024 · rank 68 of 217CO₂ per person0.43 t2024 · rank 166 of 203Inflation4.3%2025 · rank 51 of 180
topic profiles
Lesotho, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Lesotho
GDP per capita
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Life expectancy
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Internet users
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
all indicators
Lesotho by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within Sub-Saharan Africa.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2.4m | 2025 | 144/217 | 40/48 | +12% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 1.10% | 2025 | 96/217 | 45/48 | −0.1 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 44.7% | 2025 | 162/217 | 25/48 | +10.6 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 2.66 | 2024 | 68/217 | 44/48 | −18% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 3.9% | 2025 | 169/217 | 12/48 | ±0.0 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 34.1% | 2025 | 54/217 | 42/48 | −2.5 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 77.0 | 2024 | 129/216 | 23/48 | +12% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 23.8 | 2024 | 56/217 | 43/48 | −19% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 30,360 km² | 2024 | 138/216 | 38/48 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $2.6bn | 2025 | 185/211 | 42/46 | +9.1% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $1,089 | 2025 | 196/211 | 33/46 | −2.9% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $3,184 | 2025 | 184/199 | 34/46 | +4.9% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $1,280 | 2025 | 178/201 | 25/46 | ±0.0% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 2.0% | 2025 | 146/210 | 39/46 | −1.1 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 0.9% | 2025 | 154/210 | 32/46 | −1.1 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 6.5% | 2025 | 96/198 | 37/45 | +2.7 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 25.2% | 2025 | 85/201 | 21/45 | −8.6 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 55.6% | 2025 | 116/201 | 10/45 | +4.1 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 31.2% | 2025 | 25/175 | 8/43 | +0.8 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 13.6% | 2025 | 128/163 | 28/39 | −10.9 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 4.3% | 2025 | 51/180 | 18/44 | +1.1 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 4.9% | 2024 | 69/136 | 21/36 | +8.2 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 11.2% | 2024 | 49/136 | 19/36 | +0.9 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 17.89 | 2025 | 96/210 | 41/47 | +40% | — | |
| Government debt | 3.0% | 2020 | 77/78 | 15/15 | −26.6 pp | — | |
| Tax revenue | 35.4% | 2024 | 1/142 | 1/32 | −0.9 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 40.2% | 2022 | 17/142 | 1/32 | +0.2 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 65.4% | 2024 | 34/119 | 11/43 | +31.8 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 1.63% | 2025 | 81/156 | 16/45 | −0.2 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 49.5% | 2025 | 54/184 | 5/43 | +6.6 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 104.5% | 2025 | 6/184 | 1/43 | +17.6 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 154.0% | 2025 | 19/184 | 2/43 | +24.3 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | 0.1% | 2025 | 72/185 | 11/42 | +5.8 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | 1.3% | 2025 | 130/197 | 34/46 | −3.5 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 20.8% | 2025 | 15/178 | 4/41 | +6.0 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 1.1m | 2019 | 91/196 | 9/42 | +232% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 16.3% | 2025 | 14/187 | 8/47 | +0.1 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 24.7% | 2025 | 32/187 | 10/47 | +0.7 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 57.1% | 2025 | 128/187 | 34/47 | −5.7 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 48.1% | 2025 | 124/187 | 36/47 | −6.4 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $172m | 2023 | 98/145 | 38/48 | −46% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 6.6% | 2023 | 35/139 | 17/47 | −5.2 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $74.5 | 2023 | 65/145 | 22/48 | −52% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 41.9% | 2017 | 16/151 | 16/44 | −33.0 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 56.8% | 2017 | 23/151 | 23/44 | −28.4 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 49.7% | 2017 | 20/145 | 17/45 | −6.9 pp | — | |
| Gini index | 44.9 | 2017 | 16/151 | 9/44 | −12% | — | |
| Women in parliament | 25.0% | 2025 | 101/190 | 22/46 | ±0.0 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 90.4% | 2024 | 83/141 | 6/41 | +24.3 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 96.6% | 2024 | 42/147 | 1/41 | +21.9 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 80.2% | 2024 | 183/191 | 36/41 | −27.7 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 59.4% | 2017 | — | — | +17.8 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 9.9% | 2018 | 156/172 | 21/34 | +6.3 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 67.0% | 2023 | 152/168 | 22/36 | −14.9 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 32.9 | 2017 | 32/173 | 26/40 | −11% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 6.6% | 2024 | 17/184 | 4/43 | −5.7 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 57.8 yrs | 2024 | 213/217 | 44/48 | +14% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 56.3 | 2024 | 11/196 | 11/48 | −20% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 60.0 | 2024 | 21/196 | 21/48 | −23% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 478 | 2023 | 11/194 | 10/48 | −44% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 12.6% | 2023 | 8/193 | 2/48 | +1.6 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $123 | 2023 | 140/193 | 11/48 | −6.6% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.23 | 2022 | 147/180 | 18/46 | +241% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 90% | 2024 | 98/193 | 9/48 | −2.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 17.1% | 2024 | 3/153 | 3/44 | −7.6 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 35.6% | 2024 | 17/154 | 11/46 | +2.2 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 78.1% | 2024 | 172/206 | 16/46 | +5.8 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 47.9% | 2024 | 170/203 | 18/46 | +13.2 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 51.8% | 2024 | 147/188 | 13/46 | +29.8 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 70.3 | 2024 | 179/210 | 33/48 | −32% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 0.4 | 2024 | 182/208 | 28/48 | +425% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 60.6% | 2024 | 187/215 | 22/48 | +32.8 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 58.0% | 2024 | 131/192 | 7/48 | +18.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 0.43 t | 2024 | 166/203 | 23/47 | +49% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 34.9% | 2022 | 70/212 | 39/48 | −5.9 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 99.8% | 2021 | 3/206 | 1/48 | −0.1 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 1.1% | 2024 | 196/214 | 46/48 | ±0.0 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 19.0% | 2024 | 58/206 | 16/48 | +10.0 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 0.8% | 2022 | 156/177 | 36/47 | ±0.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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