Lesotho birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in Lesotho chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in Lesotho is 2.69, which is above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. In 1993, the fertility rate was 4.37 — a -38.3% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Lesotho	World
1960	5.78	4.69
1961	5.79	4.56
1962	5.79	5.02
1963	5.78	5.31
1964	5.77	5.13
1965	5.77	5.08
1966	5.76	4.97
1967	5.75	4.87
1968	5.73	4.98
1969	5.7	4.88
1970	5.7	4.84
1971	5.7	4.69
1972	5.69	4.55
1973	5.69	4.42
1974	5.75	4.26
1975	5.83	4.07
1976	5.87	3.97
1977	5.85	3.84
1978	5.82	3.77
1979	5.79	3.76
1980	5.75	3.73
1981	5.69	3.71
1982	5.63	3.72
1983	5.56	3.59
1984	5.48	3.57
1985	5.4	3.53
1986	5.32	3.51
1987	5.22	3.48
1988	5.1	3.39
1989	4.96	3.35
1990	4.81	3.31
1991	4.68	3.13
1992	4.54	3.04
1993	4.37	2.97
1994	4.21	2.92
1995	4.13	2.87
1996	4.06	2.82
1997	3.98	2.78
1998	3.82	2.75
1999	3.67	2.72
2000	3.61	2.73
2001	3.63	2.69
2002	3.68	2.66
2003	3.62	2.64
2004	3.51	2.63
2005	3.43	2.61
2006	3.41	2.61
2007	3.44	2.6
2008	3.39	2.6
2009	3.31	2.59
2010	3.25	2.57
2011	3.34	2.55
2012	3.3	2.56
2013	3.28	2.53
2014	3.24	2.52
2015	3.22	2.49
2016	3.18	2.49
2017	3.11	2.46
2018	3.02	2.39
2019	2.92	2.35
2020	2.85	2.28
2021	2.77	2.25
2022	2.72	2.22
2023	2.69	2.2
2024	2.66	2.19
2025	2.64	2.18
2026	2.61	2.18
2027	2.58	2.17
2028	2.55	2.16
2029	2.53	2.15
2030	2.5	2.14
2031	2.47	2.13
2032	2.45	2.12
2033	2.43	2.12
2034	2.41	2.11
2035	2.38	2.1
2036	2.37	2.09
2037	2.34	2.09
2038	2.32	2.08
2039	2.3	2.08
2040	2.29	2.08
2041	2.27	2.07
2042	2.25	2.07
2043	2.24	2.07
2044	2.22	2.07
2045	2.21	2.06
2046	2.19	2.06
2047	2.18	2.06
2048	2.17	2.05
2049	2.16	2.05
2050	2.14	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 15.3% were to women under 20 years old, 52.1% to women ages 20-29, and 32.6% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 13.1%, 53%, and 33.9% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in Lesotho by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	Lesotho	World
1960	45.1%	37.4%
1961	45.2%	37.5%
1962	45.3%	37.6%
1963	45.2%	37.8%
1964	44.9%	38%
1965	44.8%	38%
1966	44.9%	38%
1967	44.8%	38%
1968	44.4%	37.9%
1969	44%	37.8%
1970	43.6%	37.7%
1971	43.1%	37.6%
1972	42.7%	37.5%
1973	42.3%	37.3%
1974	41.9%	37.2%
1975	41.6%	37.1%
1976	41.4%	36.9%
1977	41.5%	36.7%
1978	41.7%	36.3%
1979	41.9%	35.9%
1980	42.1%	35.5%
1981	42.3%	35.2%
1982	42.5%	34.9%
1983	42.7%	34.6%
1984	42.8%	34.3%
1985	43%	34%
1986	42.7%	33.8%
1987	42.5%	33.6%
1988	42.7%	33.4%
1989	42.8%	33.2%
1990	42.9%	33%
1991	42.9%	32.9%
1992	42.8%	32.7%
1993	42.6%	32.5%
1994	42.3%	32.3%
1995	42%	32.1%
1996	41.7%	31.8%
1997	41.2%	31.5%
1998	40.7%	31.1%
1999	40.2%	30.8%
2000	39.6%	30.4%
2001	39.1%	30%
2002	38.6%	29.6%
2003	38.1%	29.2%
2004	37.7%	28.8%
2005	37.4%	28.5%
2006	37.1%	28.1%
2007	36.8%	27.9%
2008	36.7%	27.6%
2009	36.6%	27.5%
2010	36.5%	27.3%
2011	36.5%	27.1%
2012	36.5%	27%
2013	36.5%	26.9%
2014	36.6%	26.8%
2015	36.6%	26.6%
2016	36.6%	26.5%
2017	36.5%	26.4%
2018	36.3%	26.2%
2019	36.1%	26%
2020	35.8%	25.8%
2021	35.6%	25.6%
2022	35.3%	25.3%
2023	34.9%	25%
2024	34.5%	24.7%
2025	34.1%	24.4%
2026	33.6%	24.1%
2027	33.1%	23.8%
2028	32.6%	23.4%
2029	32%	23.1%
2030	31.5%	22.8%
2031	31%	22.6%
2032	30.5%	22.3%
2033	30.1%	22.1%
2034	29.7%	21.9%
2035	29.3%	21.7%
2036	29%	21.6%
2037	28.8%	21.5%
2038	28.5%	21.4%
2039	28.3%	21.3%
2040	28.1%	21.2%
2041	27.8%	21.1%
2042	27.6%	21%
2043	27.4%	21%
2044	27.1%	20.9%
2045	26.9%	20.8%
2046	26.7%	20.7%
2047	26.4%	20.7%
2048	26.2%	20.6%
2049	25.9%	20.5%
2050	25.7%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Lesotho was 45.1% in 1960, 42.6% in 1993, and 34.5% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of Lesotho.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in Lesotho, excluding migration, has been +1.44% annually. On average, 31,583 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Lesotho
1960	19,981
1961	20,581
1962	21,132
1963	21,585
1964	22,116
1965	22,755
1966	23,326
1967	23,911
1968	24,490
1969	25,137
1970	25,935
1971	26,838
1972	27,841
1973	28,859
1974	30,444
1975	32,311
1976	34,117
1977	35,654
1978	37,084
1979	38,440
1980	39,617
1981	40,808
1982	41,941
1983	42,899
1984	43,785
1985	44,575
1986	45,232
1987	47,718
1988	47,158
1989	46,264
1990	45,060
1991	44,026
1992	42,579
1993	40,505
1994	38,629
1995	37,370
1996	36,228
1997	34,637
1998	30,889
1999	27,393
2000	24,786
2001	23,190
2002	22,274
2003	20,133
2004	17,271
2005	15,831
2006	15,234
2007	17,763
2008	19,349
2009	20,335
2010	21,877
2011	25,647
2012	27,592
2013	29,789
2014	30,922
2015	32,087
2016	33,390
2017	33,601
2018	33,112
2019	32,279
2020	30,721
2021	27,806
2022	30,803
2023	31,115

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in Lesotho was 478 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.48% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a +15.7% increase compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Lesotho	World
1985	711	460
1986	680	438
1987	686	429
1988	680	414
1989	680	401
1990	665	391
1991	641	395
1992	601	395
1993	542	389
1994	423	382
1995	357	371
1996	319	366
1997	312	358
1998	332	360
1999	371	340
2000	413	328
2001	465	321
2002	484	311
2003	508	301
2004	499	291
2005	549	283
2006	696	276
2007	891	269
2008	1,205	264
2009	1,387	258
2010	1,311	253
2011	1,210	247
2012	1,000	239
2013	855	235
2014	707	231
2015	594	228
2016	518	220
2017	468	215
2018	491	211
2019	467	207
2020	529	211
2021	577	242
2022	477	203
2023	478	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in Lesotho was 58.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 5.89% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 109.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Lesotho	World
1960	18.6%	18.5%
1961	18.5%	18.1%
1962	18.5%	17.8%
1963	18.6%	17.5%
1964	18.6%	17.7%
1965	18.7%	17.5%
1966	18.6%	17.3%
1967	18.5%	17%
1968	18.3%	16.5%
1969	18%	15.5%
1970	17.7%	15.2%
1971	17.3%	15.1%
1972	16.9%	14.4%
1973	16.5%	14.1%
1974	16%	13.7%
1975	15.5%	13.4%
1976	14.9%	13%
1977	14.2%	12.5%
1978	13.6%	12.1%
1979	12.9%	11.7%
1980	12.3%	11.4%
1981	11.7%	11%
1982	11.1%	10.8%
1983	10.6%	10.6%
1984	10.1%	10.4%
1985	9.72%	10.1%
1986	9.36%	9.81%
1987	9.06%	9.47%
1988	8.8%	9.31%
1989	8.6%	9.02%
1990	8.47%	8.81%
1991	8.43%	8.66%
1992	8.51%	8.46%
1993	8.73%	8.19%
1994	9.07%	7.98%
1995	9.45%	7.76%
1996	9.83%	7.52%
1997	10.2%	7.28%
1998	10.5%	7.05%
1999	10.7%	6.76%
2000	10.9%	6.48%
2001	11.1%	6.21%
2002	11.2%	5.94%
2003	11.4%	5.65%
2004	11.5%	5.43%
2005	11.6%	5.16%
2006	11.5%	4.92%
2007	11.2%	4.7%
2008	10.9%	4.5%
2009	9.64%	4.31%
2010	9.01%	4.11%
2011	8.59%	3.97%
2012	8.26%	3.77%
2013	8.02%	3.61%
2014	7.82%	3.48%
2015	7.51%	3.35%
2016	7.18%	3.23%
2017	7.12%	3.11%
2018	6.91%	2.97%
2019	6.87%	2.86%
2020	6.68%	2.75%
2021	6.44%	2.66%
2022	6.15%	2.59%
2023	5.89%	2.49%