Health · Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Lesotho: health in numbers
Life expectancy is 57.8 yrs (2024), 213th of 217 in the world and 44th of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy, women is 60.4 yrs (2024), 214th of 217 in the world and 45th of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy, men is 55.0 yrs (2024), 214th of 217 in the world and 45th of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Life expectancy
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
Life expectancy, women
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
18 indicators
Health: Lesotho in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years | 57.8 yrs2024 | 213/217 | 44/48 | 48.8 yrs | 46.0 yrs | 55.1 yrs | +14%since 2014 | 62.8 yrs | 69.5 yrs | 73.5 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, womenLife expectancy at birth, women, years | 60.4 yrs2024 | 214/217 | 45/48 | 51.1 yrs | 48.3 yrs | 57.7 yrs | +13%since 2014 | 65.0 yrs | 71.3 yrs | 76.0 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, menLife expectancy at birth, men, years | 55.0 yrs2024 | 214/217 | 45/48 | 46.5 yrs | 43.9 yrs | 52.5 yrs | +14%since 2014 | 60.7 yrs | 67.8 yrs | 71.1 yrs | |
| Infant mortalityInfant mortality, per 1,000 live births | 56.32024 | 11/196 | 11/48 | 74.8 | 73.6 | 62.1 | −20%since 2014 | 47.1 | 33.1 | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortalityUnder-5 mortality, per 1,000 live births | 60.02024 | 21/196 | 21/48 | 108.3 | 90.9 | 66.3 | −23%since 2014 | 71.2 | 43.8 | 37.4 | |
| Neonatal mortalityNeonatal mortality, per 1,000 live births | 28.52024 | 14/196 | 11/48 | 37.1 | 36.6 | 30.8 | −18%since 2014 | 26.6 | 21.6 | 17.2 | |
| Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality, per 100,000 live births | 4782023 | 11/194 | 10/48 | 413 | 1,311 | 529 | −44%since 2013 | 448 | 235 | 197 | |
| Measles vaccinationMeasles immunisation, % of children 12–23 months | 90%2024 | 98/193 | 9/48 | 74% | 88% | 90% | −2.0 ppsince 2014 | 69% | 86% | 84% | |
| HIV prevalenceHIV prevalence, % of people 15–49 | 17.1%2024 | 3/153 | 3/44 | 22.0% | 24.8% | 20.7% | −7.6 ppsince 2014 | 3.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | |
| TuberculosisTuberculosis incidence, per 100,000 people | 5482024 | 4/208 | 1/48 | 827 | 1,180 | 599 | −36%since 2014 | 205 | 208 | 131 | |
| Health spendingCurrent health expenditure, % of GDP | 12.6%2023 | 8/193 | 2/48 | 5.2% | 7.4% | 10.4% | +1.6 ppsince 2013 | 4.9% | 3.7% | 10.1% | |
| Out-of-pocket spendingOut-of-pocket health spending, % of health expenditure | 13.2%2023 | 153/193 | 39/48 | 39.7% | 23.5% | 16.0% | −0.7 ppsince 2013 | 30.4% | 47.0% | 17.3% | |
| PhysiciansPhysicians per 1,000 people | 0.232022 | 147/180 | 18/46 | · | 0.07 | 0.232022 | +241%since 2010 | 0.25 | 0.71 | 1.86 | |
| Hospital bedsHospital beds per 1,000 people | 1.32006 | — | — | · | · | · | — | — | 1.5 | 3.3 | |
| Basic waterBasic drinking water, % of population | 78.1%2024 | 172/206 | 16/46 | 64.4% | 70.1% | 75.7% | +5.8 ppsince 2014 | 67.5% | 90.8% | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitationBasic sanitation, % of population | 47.9%2024 | 170/203 | 18/46 | 13.9% | 29.0% | 42.7% | +13.2 ppsince 2014 | 37.1% | 73.9% | 82.2% | |
| Tobacco useTobacco use, % of adults | 28.0%2024 | 38/166 | 1/39 | 26.4% | 26.6% | 27.6% | +1.4 ppsince 2010 | 8.9% | 20.4% | 20.3% | |
| Road deathsRoad traffic deaths, per 100,000 people | 31.92019 | 19/186 | 14/48 | 27.0 | 27.7 | 31.92019 | +15%since 2009 | 27.4 | 17.4 | 16.7 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Life expectancy+14%57.8 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, women+13%60.4 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, men+14%55.0 yrs in 2024
- Infant mortality−20%56.3 in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Measles vaccination−2.0 pp90% in 2024
- Tobacco use+1.4 pp28.0% in 2024
- Road deaths+15%31.9 in 2019
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Lesotho and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Lesotho. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Lesotho | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 57.8 yrs2024 | 66.3 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, women | 60.4 yrs2024 | 69.8 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, men | 55.0 yrs2024 | 62.8 yrs2024 |
| Infant mortality | 56.32024 | 24.22024 |
| Under-5 mortality | 60.02024 | 35.12024 |
| Neonatal mortality | 28.52024 | 12.42024 |
| Maternal mortality | 4782023 | 1182023 |
| Measles vaccination | 90%2024 | 76%2024 |
| HIV prevalence | 17.1%2024 | 17.2%2024 |