Lesotho vs South Africa statistics compared

Lesotho has a population of 2.34M (ranked 145/197), compared with 64M in South Africa (ranked 24/197). Lesotho's land area is 11,722 sq mi versus 468,377 sq mi for South Africa (ranked 137th vs. 24th).

By GDP, Lesotho ranks 174/197 ($2.27B) and South Africa ranks 41/197 ($400B). By GDP per capita, Lesotho ranks 180/197 ($972), while South Africa ranks 112/197 ($6,253).

Lesotho and South Africa: Comparison Charts

Lesotho and South Africa economies compared

GDP

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	GDP
	Lesotho	South Africa
1960	$34,579,986	$8,748,596,501
1961	$35,699,986	$9,225,996,310
1962	$41,859,983	$9,813,996,074
1963	$47,039,981	$10,854,195,658
1964	$51,939,979	$11,955,995,218
1965	$54,879,978	$13,068,994,772
1966	$56,699,977	$14,211,394,315
1967	$59,261,976	$15,821,393,671
1968	$61,445,975	$17,124,793,150
1969	$65,967,974	$19,256,992,297
1970	$68,739,973	$21,218,391,513
1971	$76,480,285	$23,411,076,638
1972	$80,913,200	$24,515,919,217
1973	$121,188,716	$33,262,772,008
1974	$150,851,317	$41,389,186,095
1975	$149,558,896	$42,906,905,672
1976	$147,660,037	$41,150,460,288
1977	$193,315,048	$45,328,411,332
1978	$266,570,067	$51,607,412,902
1979	$290,134,593	$63,038,658,089
1980	$431,542,537	$89,411,864,402
1981	$434,188,034	$93,141,472,164
1982	$348,741,684	$85,904,057,409
1983	$386,699,309	$96,204,110,942
1984	$333,163,670	$84,870,163,366
1985	$268,629,926	$64,459,376,087
1986	$318,858,423	$73,354,771,399
1987	$402,768,324	$96,535,763,418
1988	$470,395,801	$103,976,831,871
1989	$495,409,233	$108,055,624,082
1990	$596,410,264	$126,048,140,142
1991	$704,325,367	$135,203,698,238
1992	$831,029,862	$146,956,150,987
1993	$835,582,062	$147,194,747,566
1994	$878,250,945	$153,512,712,382
1995	$1,001,894,000	$171,735,933,897
1996	$946,112,493	$163,234,925,381
1997	$998,004,259	$168,978,057,328
1998	$928,460,893	$152,982,984,557
1999	$912,773,681	$151,516,957,079
2000	$887,291,688	$151,752,757,215
2001	$825,706,961	$135,429,905,923
2002	$775,777,239	$129,087,556,612
2003	$1,157,825,435	$197,018,965,309
2004	$1,511,236,656	$255,806,908,595
2005	$1,682,343,527	$288,867,217,197
2006	$1,800,092,564	$303,858,675,364
2007	$1,682,131,785	$333,077,117,254
2008	$1,766,902,709	$316,131,258,616
2009	$1,740,894,965	$329,754,060,647
2010	$2,234,754,242	$417,363,822,802
2011	$2,579,409,620	$458,199,494,831
2012	$2,477,702,216	$434,400,545,086
2013	$2,367,112,932	$400,886,013,596
2014	$2,441,063,054	$381,198,869,776
2015	$2,359,686,725	$346,709,790,459
2016	$2,114,426,452	$323,585,509,674
2017	$2,306,741,672	$381,448,814,653
2018	$2,556,247,292	$405,260,723,893
2019	$2,390,702,296	$389,330,032,224
2020	$2,053,699,870	$337,974,655,408
2021	$2,412,130,022	$420,886,877,629
2022	$2,354,980,884	$406,920,004,594
2023	$2,117,962,430	$380,699,271,816
2024	$2,271,541,846	$400,260,724,226

Lesotho and South Africa economies compared

GDP per capita

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	GDP per capita
	Lesotho	South Africa
1960	$47	$532
1961	$47	$546
1962	$53.5	$563
1963	$58.4	$605
1964	$62.6	$646
1965	$64.3	$685
1966	$64.3	$722
1967	$64.8	$779
1968	$64.8	$817
1969	$67.1	$891
1970	$67.4	$952
1971	$72.4	$1,020
1972	$74	$1,038
1973	$107	$1,369
1974	$128.7	$1,656
1975	$123.2	$1,670
1976	$117.8	$1,559
1977	$149.9	$1,671
1978	$200.8	$1,852
1979	$212.4	$2,202
1980	$307	$3,029
1981	$299.8	$3,050
1982	$233.9	$2,717
1983	$252	$2,938
1984	$211	$2,504
1985	$165.4	$1,839
1986	$191.4	$2,027
1987	$236.5	$2,586
1988	$270.4	$2,702
1989	$279	$2,727
1990	$330	$3,093
1991	$382	$3,243
1992	$444	$3,462
1993	$439	$3,400
1994	$456	$3,489
1995	$513	$3,856
1996	$480	$3,618
1997	$502	$3,700
1998	$465	$3,310
1999	$456	$3,242
2000	$443	$3,218
2001	$413	$2,847
2002	$389	$2,688
2003	$583	$4,062
2004	$767	$5,221
2005	$861	$5,837
2006	$925	$6,077
2007	$861	$6,592
2008	$898	$6,185
2009	$879	$6,375
2010	$1,119	$7,973
2011	$1,281	$8,646
2012	$1,218	$8,077
2013	$1,151	$7,332
2014	$1,174	$6,857
2015	$1,121	$6,112
2016	$992	$5,651
2017	$1,069	$6,618
2018	$1,171	$6,914
2019	$1,082	$6,534
2020	$919	$5,581
2021	$1,067	$6,843
2022	$1,030	$6,523
2023	$916	$6,023
2024	$972	$6,253

Lesotho vs. South Africa life expectancy calculator

Life expectancy

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	Life expectancy, years
	Lesotho	South Africa
1950	44.6	43.1
1951	45.2	44.1
1952	45.9	45
1953	46.6	46.1
1954	47.3	47.1
1955	48	48.2
1956	48.6	49.2
1957	49.2	50.2
1958	49.6	51.1
1959	49.9	51.9
1960	50.2	52.6
1961	50.3	53.1
1962	50.3	53.6
1963	50.3	53.9
1964	50.3	54.2
1965	50.3	54.4
1966	50.4	54.7
1967	50.5	55
1968	50.8	55.2
1969	51.1	55.4
1970	51.5	55.7
1971	51.8	56
1972	52.3	56.4
1973	52.6	56.7
1974	52.9	57.1
1975	53.5	57.6
1976	53.9	58
1977	54.5	58.5
1978	55.2	59
1979	55.8	59.5
1980	56.5	60
1981	57.3	60.4
1982	58	60.9
1983	58.5	61.4
1984	59	61.8
1985	59.2	62.2
1986	59.3	62.4
1987	59.6	62.7
1988	59.6	62.9
1989	59.5	63
1990	59.3	62.9
1991	59.1	63
1992	58.6	62.8
1993	58.1	62.6
1994	57.3	62.1
1995	56.4	61.6
1996	55.1	61.1
1997	53.7	60.5
1998	52	59.9
1999	50.4	59.2
2000	48.8	58.4
2001	47.2	57.2
2002	46	55.6
2003	44.9	54.2
2004	44	54
2005	43.6	53.9
2006	43.2	54.2
2007	43.7	54.9
2008	44.3	56
2009	45.1	57.4
2010	46	58.9
2011	46.9	60.6
2012	48.2	61.7
2013	49.5	62.4
2014	50.8	63.2
2015	51.8	64.1
2016	52.9	64.7
2017	53.9	65.4
2018	54.6	65.7
2019	55.2	66.1
2020	55.1	65.2
2021	54.2	62
2022	56.8	65.5
2023	57.4	66.1
2024	57.8	66.3
2025	58.2	66.5

Lesotho and South Africa population clocks and comparison

Population

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	Population
	Lesotho	South Africa
1960	736,500	16,440,172
1961	758,824	16,908,035
1962	781,814	17,418,522
1963	805,373	17,954,564
1964	829,437	18,511,361
1965	854,090	19,089,380
1966	881,870	19,690,087
1967	913,982	20,314,066
1968	948,105	20,957,287
1969	983,202	21,614,676
1970	1,019,273	22,279,984
1971	1,056,246	22,942,143
1972	1,094,063	23,609,456
1973	1,132,697	24,294,263
1974	1,172,420	24,989,108
1975	1,213,643	25,690,940
1976	1,253,214	26,395,450
1977	1,289,967	27,118,952
1978	1,327,240	27,869,507
1979	1,366,169	28,634,162
1980	1,406,521	29,518,857
1981	1,448,069	30,541,044
1982	1,490,732	31,615,339
1983	1,534,413	32,739,304
1984	1,578,986	33,892,788
1985	1,624,379	35,042,093
1986	1,666,138	36,180,515
1987	1,703,390	37,326,190
1988	1,739,841	38,480,649
1989	1,775,436	39,628,575
1990	1,809,696	40,746,268
1991	1,842,379	41,687,898
1992	1,873,274	42,443,509
1993	1,901,793	43,297,156
1994	1,927,707	44,004,139
1995	1,951,437	44,541,554
1996	1,972,418	45,123,018
1997	1,988,130	45,666,838
1998	1,998,049	46,223,880
1999	2,003,234	46,730,335
2000	2,003,913	47,159,719
2001	2,000,853	47,566,800
2002	1,994,679	48,019,415
2003	1,985,059	48,500,348
2004	1,971,129	48,991,421
2005	1,953,076	49,490,033
2006	1,945,063	49,998,277
2007	1,953,268	50,528,584
2008	1,966,541	51,114,599
2009	1,980,883	51,728,516
2010	1,996,251	52,344,051
2011	2,014,009	52,995,205
2012	2,034,354	53,782,567
2013	2,056,504	54,678,791
2014	2,080,089	55,594,838
2015	2,104,611	56,723,537
2016	2,130,422	57,259,551
2017	2,157,110	57,635,162
2018	2,183,603	58,613,001
2019	2,209,405	59,587,885
2020	2,235,727	60,562,381
2021	2,261,542	61,502,603
2022	2,286,110	62,378,410
2023	2,311,472	63,212,384
2024	2,337,423	64,007,187

Fertility rates in Lesotho and South Africa

Fertility rate

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Lesotho	South Africa
1960	5.78	6.11
1961	5.79	6.08
1962	5.79	6.05
1963	5.78	6.01
1964	5.77	5.96
1965	5.77	5.89
1966	5.76	5.91
1967	5.75	5.85
1968	5.73	5.78
1969	5.7	5.72
1970	5.7	5.63
1971	5.7	5.57
1972	5.69	5.49
1973	5.69	5.41
1974	5.75	5.3
1975	5.83	5.19
1976	5.87	5.07
1977	5.85	4.94
1978	5.82	4.85
1979	5.79	4.82
1980	5.75	4.78
1981	5.69	4.71
1982	5.63	4.7
1983	5.56	4.63
1984	5.48	4.57
1985	5.4	4.5
1986	5.32	4.41
1987	5.22	4.35
1988	5.1	4.18
1989	4.96	3.98
1990	4.81	3.72
1991	4.68	3.62
1992	4.54	3.48
1993	4.37	3.37
1994	4.21	3.26
1995	4.13	3.17
1996	4.06	2.99
1997	3.98	2.73
1998	3.82	2.63
1999	3.67	2.56
2000	3.61	2.41
2001	3.63	2.37
2002	3.68	2.32
2003	3.62	2.36
2004	3.51	2.44
2005	3.43	2.51
2006	3.41	2.55
2007	3.44	2.55
2008	3.39	2.68
2009	3.31	2.5
2010	3.25	2.44
2011	3.34	2.44
2012	3.3	2.45
2013	3.28	2.43
2014	3.24	2.42
2015	3.22	2.36
2016	3.18	2.26
2017	3.11	2.28
2018	3.02	2.27
2019	2.92	2.26
2020	2.85	2.26
2021	2.77	2.25
2022	2.72	2.23
2023	2.69	2.22

Lesotho and South Africa demographics compared

Median age

Lesotho

South Africa

Table

Year	Median age, years
	Lesotho	South Africa
1960	17.5	19
1961	17.4	19
1962	17.4	18.9
1963	17.4	18.9
1964	17.5	18.9
1965	17.5	18.8
1966	17.5	18.8
1967	17.6	18.8
1968	17.8	18.8
1969	18	18.8
1970	18.2	18.8
1971	18.3	18.8
1972	18.5	18.8
1973	18.6	18.8
1974	18.8	18.9
1975	18.9	18.9
1976	19	19
1977	19	19.1
1978	18.9	19.2
1979	18.8	19.3
1980	18.8	19.4
1981	18.7	19.6
1982	18.6	19.8
1983	18.6	20
1984	18.5	20.2
1985	18.4	20.4
1986	18.6	20.5
1987	18.7	20.7
1988	18.6	20.9
1989	18.5	21.1
1990	18.4	21.3
1991	18.4	21.5
1992	18.4	21.5
1993	18.4	21.9
1994	18.5	22
1995	18.6	21.5
1996	18.6	21.2
1997	18.8	21.2
1998	18.9	21.4
1999	19.1	21.6
2000	19.2	21.9
2001	19.4	22.2
2002	19.5	22.4
2003	19.7	22.8
2004	19.8	23.1
2005	19.9	23.3
2006	20	23.5
2007	20.2	23.8
2008	20.4	24
2009	20.6	24.3
2010	20.7	24.6
2011	20.9	25
2012	21	25.3
2013	21.1	25.7
2014	21.2	26
2015	21.3	26.4
2016	21.4	26.7
2017	21.6	27
2018	21.7	27.5
2019	21.8	27.9
2020	22	28.3
2021	22.1	28.6
2022	22.3	28.9
2023	22.5	29.2
2024	22.7	29.5

Interactive Maps

Use the buttons below to switch between world maps comparing statistics for Lesotho and South Africa.

Relevant pages:

• Facts World

By topic vs comparisons:

• Birth rate
• Demographics
• Economy
• Life expectancy
• Population
• Population density
• Size