Lesotho is a lower-middle-income country with a population of 2.34M people. The capital and largest city is Maseru, with 344K residents. Lesotho shares land borders with South Africa.
Lesotho ranks 174/197 by GDP ($2.27B) and 180/197 by GDP per capita ($972). The top export category is textiles & consumer goods, while the top import is machinery & equipment.
Main facts and rankings
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Population |
2384217
|
144/197 |
| GDP |
$2.27B
2024 |
174/197 |
| GDP per capita |
$972
2024 |
180/197 |
| GDP per capita, PPP |
$2,998
2024 |
180/197 |
| Government debt |
$1.36B
2024 |
166/185 |
| Debt-to-GDP ratio |
59.7%
2025 |
81/185 |
| Government debt per person |
$581
2024 |
160/185 |
| Average annual personal income after taxes |
$7,614
2025 |
91/197 |
| Land area | 11,722 sq mi | 137/197 |
| Population density | 199.4 ppl/mi² | 114/197 |
| Fertility rate | 2.69 | 68/196 |
| Median age | 22.7 years | 143/196 |
| Life expectancy | 58.2 years | 193/197 |
Lesotho trends dashboard: time-series charts
| Year | GDP |
|---|---|
| 1960 | $34,579,986 |
| 1961 | $35,699,986 |
| 1962 | $41,859,983 |
| 1963 | $47,039,981 |
| 1964 | $51,939,979 |
| 1965 | $54,879,978 |
| 1966 | $56,699,977 |
| 1967 | $59,261,976 |
| 1968 | $61,445,975 |
| 1969 | $65,967,974 |
| 1970 | $68,739,973 |
| 1971 | $76,480,285 |
| 1972 | $80,913,200 |
| 1973 | $121,188,716 |
| 1974 | $150,851,317 |
| 1975 | $149,558,896 |
| 1976 | $147,660,037 |
| 1977 | $193,315,048 |
| 1978 | $266,570,067 |
| 1979 | $290,134,593 |
| 1980 | $431,542,537 |
| 1981 | $434,188,034 |
| 1982 | $348,741,684 |
| 1983 | $386,699,309 |
| 1984 | $333,163,670 |
| 1985 | $268,629,926 |
| 1986 | $318,858,423 |
| 1987 | $402,768,324 |
| 1988 | $470,395,801 |
| 1989 | $495,409,233 |
| 1990 | $596,410,264 |
| 1991 | $704,325,367 |
| 1992 | $831,029,862 |
| 1993 | $835,582,062 |
| 1994 | $878,250,945 |
| 1995 | $1,001,894,000 |
| 1996 | $946,112,493 |
| 1997 | $998,004,259 |
| 1998 | $928,460,893 |
| 1999 | $912,773,681 |
| 2000 | $887,291,688 |
| 2001 | $825,706,961 |
| 2002 | $775,777,239 |
| 2003 | $1,157,825,435 |
| 2004 | $1,511,236,656 |
| 2005 | $1,682,343,527 |
| 2006 | $1,800,092,564 |
| 2007 | $1,682,131,785 |
| 2008 | $1,766,902,709 |
| 2009 | $1,740,894,965 |
| 2010 | $2,234,754,242 |
| 2011 | $2,579,409,620 |
| 2012 | $2,477,702,216 |
| 2013 | $2,367,112,932 |
| 2014 | $2,441,063,054 |
| 2015 | $2,359,686,725 |
| 2016 | $2,114,426,452 |
| 2017 | $2,306,741,672 |
| 2018 | $2,556,247,292 |
| 2019 | $2,390,702,296 |
| 2020 | $2,053,699,870 |
| 2021 | $2,412,130,022 |
| 2022 | $2,354,980,884 |
| 2023 | $2,117,962,430 |
| 2024 | $2,271,541,846 |
| Year | GDP per capita |
|---|---|
| 1960 | $47 |
| 1961 | $47 |
| 1962 | $53.5 |
| 1963 | $58.4 |
| 1964 | $62.6 |
| 1965 | $64.3 |
| 1966 | $64.3 |
| 1967 | $64.8 |
| 1968 | $64.8 |
| 1969 | $67.1 |
| 1970 | $67.4 |
| 1971 | $72.4 |
| 1972 | $74 |
| 1973 | $107 |
| 1974 | $128.7 |
| 1975 | $123.2 |
| 1976 | $117.8 |
| 1977 | $149.9 |
| 1978 | $200.8 |
| 1979 | $212.4 |
| 1980 | $307 |
| 1981 | $299.8 |
| 1982 | $233.9 |
| 1983 | $252 |
| 1984 | $211 |
| 1985 | $165.4 |
| 1986 | $191.4 |
| 1987 | $236.5 |
| 1988 | $270.4 |
| 1989 | $279 |
| 1990 | $330 |
| 1991 | $382 |
| 1992 | $444 |
| 1993 | $439 |
| 1994 | $456 |
| 1995 | $513 |
| 1996 | $480 |
| 1997 | $502 |
| 1998 | $465 |
| 1999 | $456 |
| 2000 | $443 |
| 2001 | $413 |
| 2002 | $389 |
| 2003 | $583 |
| 2004 | $767 |
| 2005 | $861 |
| 2006 | $925 |
| 2007 | $861 |
| 2008 | $898 |
| 2009 | $879 |
| 2010 | $1,119 |
| 2011 | $1,281 |
| 2012 | $1,218 |
| 2013 | $1,151 |
| 2014 | $1,174 |
| 2015 | $1,121 |
| 2016 | $992 |
| 2017 | $1,069 |
| 2018 | $1,171 |
| 2019 | $1,082 |
| 2020 | $919 |
| 2021 | $1,067 |
| 2022 | $1,030 |
| 2023 | $916 |
| 2024 | $972 |
Lesotho's life expectancy calculator
| Year | Life expectancy, years |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 44.6 |
| 1951 | 45.2 |
| 1952 | 45.9 |
| 1953 | 46.6 |
| 1954 | 47.3 |
| 1955 | 48 |
| 1956 | 48.6 |
| 1957 | 49.2 |
| 1958 | 49.6 |
| 1959 | 49.9 |
| 1960 | 50.2 |
| 1961 | 50.3 |
| 1962 | 50.3 |
| 1963 | 50.3 |
| 1964 | 50.3 |
| 1965 | 50.3 |
| 1966 | 50.4 |
| 1967 | 50.5 |
| 1968 | 50.8 |
| 1969 | 51.1 |
| 1970 | 51.5 |
| 1971 | 51.8 |
| 1972 | 52.3 |
| 1973 | 52.6 |
| 1974 | 52.9 |
| 1975 | 53.5 |
| 1976 | 53.9 |
| 1977 | 54.5 |
| 1978 | 55.2 |
| 1979 | 55.8 |
| 1980 | 56.5 |
| 1981 | 57.3 |
| 1982 | 58 |
| 1983 | 58.5 |
| 1984 | 59 |
| 1985 | 59.2 |
| 1986 | 59.3 |
| 1987 | 59.6 |
| 1988 | 59.6 |
| 1989 | 59.5 |
| 1990 | 59.3 |
| 1991 | 59.1 |
| 1992 | 58.6 |
| 1993 | 58.1 |
| 1994 | 57.3 |
| 1995 | 56.4 |
| 1996 | 55.1 |
| 1997 | 53.7 |
| 1998 | 52 |
| 1999 | 50.4 |
| 2000 | 48.8 |
| 2001 | 47.2 |
| 2002 | 46 |
| 2003 | 44.9 |
| 2004 | 44 |
| 2005 | 43.6 |
| 2006 | 43.2 |
| 2007 | 43.7 |
| 2008 | 44.3 |
| 2009 | 45.1 |
| 2010 | 46 |
| 2011 | 46.9 |
| 2012 | 48.2 |
| 2013 | 49.5 |
| 2014 | 50.8 |
| 2015 | 51.8 |
| 2016 | 52.9 |
| 2017 | 53.9 |
| 2018 | 54.6 |
| 2019 | 55.2 |
| 2020 | 55.1 |
| 2021 | 54.2 |
| 2022 | 56.8 |
| 2023 | 57.4 |
| 2024 | 57.8 |
| 2025 | 58.2 |
Lesotho's population clock and projection
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 736,500 |
| 1961 | 758,824 |
| 1962 | 781,814 |
| 1963 | 805,373 |
| 1964 | 829,437 |
| 1965 | 854,090 |
| 1966 | 881,870 |
| 1967 | 913,982 |
| 1968 | 948,105 |
| 1969 | 983,202 |
| 1970 | 1,019,273 |
| 1971 | 1,056,246 |
| 1972 | 1,094,063 |
| 1973 | 1,132,697 |
| 1974 | 1,172,420 |
| 1975 | 1,213,643 |
| 1976 | 1,253,214 |
| 1977 | 1,289,967 |
| 1978 | 1,327,240 |
| 1979 | 1,366,169 |
| 1980 | 1,406,521 |
| 1981 | 1,448,069 |
| 1982 | 1,490,732 |
| 1983 | 1,534,413 |
| 1984 | 1,578,986 |
| 1985 | 1,624,379 |
| 1986 | 1,666,138 |
| 1987 | 1,703,390 |
| 1988 | 1,739,841 |
| 1989 | 1,775,436 |
| 1990 | 1,809,696 |
| 1991 | 1,842,379 |
| 1992 | 1,873,274 |
| 1993 | 1,901,793 |
| 1994 | 1,927,707 |
| 1995 | 1,951,437 |
| 1996 | 1,972,418 |
| 1997 | 1,988,130 |
| 1998 | 1,998,049 |
| 1999 | 2,003,234 |
| 2000 | 2,003,913 |
| 2001 | 2,000,853 |
| 2002 | 1,994,679 |
| 2003 | 1,985,059 |
| 2004 | 1,971,129 |
| 2005 | 1,953,076 |
| 2006 | 1,945,063 |
| 2007 | 1,953,268 |
| 2008 | 1,966,541 |
| 2009 | 1,980,883 |
| 2010 | 1,996,251 |
| 2011 | 2,014,009 |
| 2012 | 2,034,354 |
| 2013 | 2,056,504 |
| 2014 | 2,080,089 |
| 2015 | 2,104,611 |
| 2016 | 2,130,422 |
| 2017 | 2,157,110 |
| 2018 | 2,183,603 |
| 2019 | 2,209,405 |
| 2020 | 2,235,727 |
| 2021 | 2,261,542 |
| 2022 | 2,286,110 |
| 2023 | 2,311,472 |
| 2024 | 2,337,423 |
Lesotho's birth and fertility rates
| Year | Fertility rate |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.78 |
| 1961 | 5.79 |
| 1962 | 5.79 |
| 1963 | 5.78 |
| 1964 | 5.77 |
| 1965 | 5.77 |
| 1966 | 5.76 |
| 1967 | 5.75 |
| 1968 | 5.73 |
| 1969 | 5.7 |
| 1970 | 5.7 |
| 1971 | 5.7 |
| 1972 | 5.69 |
| 1973 | 5.69 |
| 1974 | 5.75 |
| 1975 | 5.83 |
| 1976 | 5.87 |
| 1977 | 5.85 |
| 1978 | 5.82 |
| 1979 | 5.79 |
| 1980 | 5.75 |
| 1981 | 5.69 |
| 1982 | 5.63 |
| 1983 | 5.56 |
| 1984 | 5.48 |
| 1985 | 5.4 |
| 1986 | 5.32 |
| 1987 | 5.22 |
| 1988 | 5.1 |
| 1989 | 4.96 |
| 1990 | 4.81 |
| 1991 | 4.68 |
| 1992 | 4.54 |
| 1993 | 4.37 |
| 1994 | 4.21 |
| 1995 | 4.13 |
| 1996 | 4.06 |
| 1997 | 3.98 |
| 1998 | 3.82 |
| 1999 | 3.67 |
| 2000 | 3.61 |
| 2001 | 3.63 |
| 2002 | 3.68 |
| 2003 | 3.62 |
| 2004 | 3.51 |
| 2005 | 3.43 |
| 2006 | 3.41 |
| 2007 | 3.44 |
| 2008 | 3.39 |
| 2009 | 3.31 |
| 2010 | 3.25 |
| 2011 | 3.34 |
| 2012 | 3.3 |
| 2013 | 3.28 |
| 2014 | 3.24 |
| 2015 | 3.22 |
| 2016 | 3.18 |
| 2017 | 3.11 |
| 2018 | 3.02 |
| 2019 | 2.92 |
| 2020 | 2.85 |
| 2021 | 2.77 |
| 2022 | 2.72 |
| 2023 | 2.69 |
| Year | Median age, years |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.5 |
| 1961 | 17.4 |
| 1962 | 17.4 |
| 1963 | 17.4 |
| 1964 | 17.5 |
| 1965 | 17.5 |
| 1966 | 17.5 |
| 1967 | 17.6 |
| 1968 | 17.8 |
| 1969 | 18 |
| 1970 | 18.2 |
| 1971 | 18.3 |
| 1972 | 18.5 |
| 1973 | 18.6 |
| 1974 | 18.8 |
| 1975 | 18.9 |
| 1976 | 19 |
| 1977 | 19 |
| 1978 | 18.9 |
| 1979 | 18.8 |
| 1980 | 18.8 |
| 1981 | 18.7 |
| 1982 | 18.6 |
| 1983 | 18.6 |
| 1984 | 18.5 |
| 1985 | 18.4 |
| 1986 | 18.6 |
| 1987 | 18.7 |
| 1988 | 18.6 |
| 1989 | 18.5 |
| 1990 | 18.4 |
| 1991 | 18.4 |
| 1992 | 18.4 |
| 1993 | 18.4 |
| 1994 | 18.5 |
| 1995 | 18.6 |
| 1996 | 18.6 |
| 1997 | 18.8 |
| 1998 | 18.9 |
| 1999 | 19.1 |
| 2000 | 19.2 |
| 2001 | 19.4 |
| 2002 | 19.5 |
| 2003 | 19.7 |
| 2004 | 19.8 |
| 2005 | 19.9 |
| 2006 | 20 |
| 2007 | 20.2 |
| 2008 | 20.4 |
| 2009 | 20.6 |
| 2010 | 20.7 |
| 2011 | 20.9 |
| 2012 | 21 |
| 2013 | 21.1 |
| 2014 | 21.2 |
| 2015 | 21.3 |
| 2016 | 21.4 |
| 2017 | 21.6 |
| 2018 | 21.7 |
| 2019 | 21.8 |
| 2020 | 22 |
| 2021 | 22.1 |
| 2022 | 22.3 |
| 2023 | 22.5 |
| 2024 | 22.7 |
Lesotho vs. World: Interactive Maps
Use the buttons below to toggle between world maps that display different statistics comparing Lesotho with other countries.
GDP per capita
GDP
Life expectancy
Population
Population density
Fertility rate
Median age
Land area
Lesotho: National Statistics
Finance
|
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| GNI, Atlas method |
$2.75B
2024 |
168/194 |
| Government expenditure, % of GDP |
52.4%
2025 |
14/195 |
| Education expenditure, % of GDP |
6.62%
2024 |
15/193 |
| Military expenditure, % of GDP |
1.54%
2023 |
88/163 |
| Armed forces personnel |
2,000
2020 |
160/174 |
| Deficit/surplus, % of GDP |
+6.05%
2025 |
4/188 |
| Unemployment rate |
18.7%
2024 |
14/196 |
| Services, % of GDP |
48%
2024 |
143/191 |
| Industry, % of GDP |
31%
2024 |
50/194 |
| Economic freedom index |
54.1
2025 |
137/197 |
| Income share by richest 10% |
32.9%
2017 |
32/169 |
| Income share by poorest 10% |
1.7%
2017 |
151/169 |
| Total reserves including gold |
$1.01B
2024 |
142/177 |
| Personal remittances received |
$476M
2024 |
117/190 |
| International tourist arrivals |
1,142,000
2019 |
85/188 |
| International tourism as share of exports |
10.1%
1999 |
63/184 |
| Banked people share |
61.6%
2024 |
90/158 |
Energy
|
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy use, kg of oil equivalent per capita |
9.73 kg
2007 |
176/177 |
| GDP PPP per kg equivalent of energy use |
$198.7
2007 |
1/173 |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions |
0.88 megatons
2023 |
160/187 |
| CO2 emissions per capita |
0.38 tons
2023 |
157/187 |
| Fossil fuel energy use share |
0%
2007 |
160/176 |
| Renewable energy use share |
34.9%
2022 |
70/193 |
| Renewable electricity output share |
99.8%
2021 |
4/192 |
| Hydroelectric share |
99.6%
2021 |
2/192 |
| Nuclear share |
0%
2021 |
114/192 |
| Electricity access |
57.3%
2023 |
167/195 |
Society
|
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| % of world population |
0.03%
2024 |
145/197 |
| Annual migration change |
-5,107
2024 |
121/196 |
| Urban population |
30.9%
2024 |
170/195 |
| Male:Female ratio |
50:50
2024 |
N/A |
| Average male height |
5.51 ft
2025 |
159/190 |
| Average female height |
5.14 ft
2025 |
158/190 |
| Quality of life index |
20.5
2025 |
178/197 |
| Corruption Perceptions Index |
37
2024 |
118/197 |
| Higher education index |
26
2025 |
138/183 |
| Homicides per 100K people |
37.7
2008 |
7/197 |
| Road traffic mortality per 100K people |
31.9
2019 |
19/197 |
| Visa free countries |
82
2025 |
120/195 |
| Adult literacy rate |
90.4%
2024 |
125/196 |
| English speaking |
27.9%
2023 |
90/197 |
| People using the Internet |
48%
2023 |
147/195 |
Health
|
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Government health expenditure per capita |
$133.7
2022 |
137/191 |
| Out-of-pocket health expenditure per capita |
$16.9
2022 |
161/191 |
| Life expectancy |
58.2 years
2025 |
193/197 |
| Foreign aid share of health expenditure |
36.3%
2022 |
16/178 |
| Physicians per 1,000 people |
0.15
2022 |
170/193 |
| Age at first childbirth |
20.9 years
2025 |
98/137 |
| Maternal mortality per 100K births |
478
2023 |
11/193 |
| Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births |
58.9
2023 |
21/192 |
| Obesity rate |
21.7%
2022 |
105/189 |
| Diabetes prevalence |
6.2%
2024 |
150/195 |
| Air quality index |
28
2025 |
144/197 |
| Tobacco use prevalence |
24.3%
2022 |
53/164 |
| Pure alcohol consumption per capita |
4.3 liters
2020 |
94/186 |
Territory
|
Lesotho
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| % of world land |
0.02%
2025 |
137/197 |
| Land area per capita |
5,015 sq mi
2024 |
84/197 |
| Agricultural land area |
9,115 sq mi
2025 |
112/194 |
| Forest area |
133.3 sq mi
2025 |
168/196 |
| Roads length |
3,691 mi
2011 |
127/175 |
Compare Lesotho with other countries
Relevant pages:
Lesotho topic pages:
Facts comparisons
