placestats

Last European coloniser: United Kingdom · Largest religious group: Christians. These are labels that describe the country, not numbers, so they are never compared with other measures. The numbers behind them, such as population shares, are.

Lesotho

Against lower middle income countries, Lesotho ranks 8th of 45 on governance and 43rd of 47 on health. Each ranking counts only the countries that report that score, so the totals differ and the two ranks can’t be compared directly. Both compare Lesotho with countries of similar wealth. That is the only kind of ranking that tells you something a ranking by income does not already show.

How it has changed

Every measure Lesotho reports, over all the years it has been published. Pick one. Hover or use the arrow keys to read a year. Gaps in a line are years with no data. They are left open, not filled in.

Loading…

Scores by area

Each score averages the measures in one area, such as health. Each measure is first put on a common scale and turned so that higher is always better. Zero is the average country in an average year. One point is a typical gap between countries (a standard deviation), so +1 means about one typical gap above average. These are summaries, not measurements. See how the country scores are built and how the topic scores compare with each other.

ScoreValueRank, all countriesRank, similar incomeMostly income?
Governance score 2025+0.6764 of 1798 of 45moderate +0.53
Health score 2024-0.67179 of 19343 of 47moderate +0.32
Education score 2023-0.34169 of 19937 of 46proxy +0.81
Equality score 2017-1.22150 of 16538 of 44high +0.64
Infrastructure score 2024-0.02179 of 21039 of 47proxy +0.90
Gender score 2024+0.26109 of 18621 of 46moderate +0.37
Environment score 2024+0.5138 of 21314 of 47moderate -0.33
Labour score 2025-0.58171 of 19537 of 47high +0.79

The last column shows how closely each score just tracks national income. The number is its link with GDP per person (the value of everything a country produces, divided by its people), from −1 to +1. A score marked proxy is mostly a measure of how rich the country is. Its rank among all countries says little that GDP per person does not. That is why the rank among similar-income countries sits beside it.

The measures behind them

Every measure reported for Lesotho, grouped by area. Some measures have no agreed better direction, such as population growth, inflation and military spending. They are listed here but left out of every score, since there is no fair way to say which way is better. Some names use technical terms: PPP means adjusted for what money buys in each country, HDI is a United Nations score combining life expectancy, schooling and income, and a Gini indexmeasures how unequally income is shared. Each measure’s own page explains it.

crime

Conflict deaths0per 100,000 people2025higher is worse
Armed conflict present01 if any conflict, else 02025higher is worse

culture

Religiously unaffiliated1.66%% of population2020no agreed direction
Christian share97.3%% of population2020no agreed direction
Muslim share0.218%% of population2020no agreed direction
Single-parent households11%% of households2018no agreed direction
One-person households18%% of households2018no agreed direction
Women in a union46.9%% of women aged 15-492021no agreed direction

demography

Median age21.4years2023no agreed direction
Age at childbearing27.9years2023no agreed direction
Population2,363,325people2025no agreed direction
Population growth1.1%% per year2025no agreed direction
Urbanization44.7%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 65+3.88%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 0-1434.1%% of population2025no agreed direction
Fertility rate2.66births per woman2024no agreed direction
Birth rate23.8per 1,000 people2024no agreed direction
Net migration-5,192people2025no agreed direction
Migrant share of population0.6%% of population2024no agreed direction

economy

HDI0.55index, 0 to 12023higher is better
Inequality-adjusted HDI0.357index, 0 to 12023higher is better
GDP per capita (PPP)$2,721international $2025higher is better
GNI per capita (PPP)$3,220international $2025higher is better
GDP per capita (market)$1,021US$2025higher is better
GDP growth1.98%% per year2025no agreed direction
Inflation4.27%% per year2025no agreed direction
Trade openness154%% of GDP2025no agreed direction
FDI inflows-0.224%% of GDP2025no agreed direction
Tax revenue35.4%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Government consumption36.4%% of GDP2025no agreed direction
Government expense40.2%% of GDP2022no agreed direction
Military spending1.57%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Employment in agriculture30.9%% of employment2025no agreed direction

education

Primary completion79.8%% of children2025higher is better
Expected schooling11years2023higher is better
Mean years of schooling7.73years2023higher is better
Education spending6.62%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Primary enrollment80.2%% gross2024higher is better
Secondary enrollment59.4%% gross2017higher is better
Tertiary enrollment9.94%% gross2018higher is better
Adult literacy90.4%% of adults2024higher is better
Compulsory schooling7years2025no agreed direction
Out of school, primary32.2%% of primary-age children2024higher is worse
Pupil-teacher ratio32.9pupils per teacher2017higher is worse
Researchers32.2per million people2023higher is better

environment

CO2 per capita0.428t CO2e per capita2024higher is worse
Forest area1.14%% of land area2023higher is better
Agricultural land77.8%% of land area2023no agreed direction
Protected land23.4%% of land area2025higher is better

gender

Gender Inequality Index0.534index, 0 to 12023higher is worse
Gender Development Index1.01ratio of women's HDI to men's2023no agreed direction
Women's political empowerment0.809index (0-1)2025higher is better
Women ministers11.8%% of ministers2024higher is better
Women in parliament25%% of seats2025higher is better
Women in management32.9%% of managers2024higher is better
Married by 1813.4%% of women aged 20-242024higher is worse

governance

Corruption Perceptions Index37index (0-100, higher = cleaner)2024higher is better
Political rights (FH)2rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Civil liberties (FH)3rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Pre-trial detainee share19.5%% of prisoners2016higher is worse
Refugees originating1.07per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Electoral democracy0.661index (0-1)2025higher is better
Liberal democracy0.512index (0-1)2025higher is better
Participatory democracy0.404index (0-1)2025higher is better
Free and fair elections0.785index (0-1)2025higher is better
Regime type2regime category (0-3)2025higher is better
Political corruption0.472index (0-1)2025higher is worse
Freedom of expression0.728index (0-1)2025higher is better
Freedom of association0.873index (0-1)2025higher is better
Political civil liberties0.857index (0-1)2025higher is better
Civil society participation0.742index (0-1)2025higher is better
Birth registration44.5%% of children under 52018higher is better
Control of corruption-0.302index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Rule of law-0.407index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Government effectiveness-0.647index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Regulatory quality-0.485index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Voice and accountability-0.155index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Political stability-0.259index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better

health

Life expectancy57.8years2024higher is better
Infant mortality56.3per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Under-5 mortality60per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Health spending12.6%% of GDP2023no agreed direction
Suicide rate28.7per 100,0002021higher is worse
Basic water access78.1%% of population2024higher is better
Basic sanitation47.9%% of population2024higher is better
Child stunting35%% of children under 52024higher is worse
Adolescent fertility69.5births per 1,000 women aged 15-192024higher is worse
Maternal mortality478per 100,000 live births2023higher is worse
Skilled birth attendance86.6%% of births2018higher is better
Alcohol consumption4.3litres per adult per year2020no agreed direction
Tobacco use28%% of adults2024higher is worse
Road traffic deaths31.9per 100,000 population2019higher is worse
Physicians0.235per 1,000 people2022higher is better
DTP3 immunisation86%% of children aged 12-23 months2024higher is better
HIV prevalence17.1%% of adults aged 15-492024higher is worse
Tuberculosis incidence548per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Premature NCD mortality36.3%% probability, ages 30-702021higher is worse
Anaemia in women34.2%% of women aged 15-492023higher is worse
Out-of-pocket health spending13.2%% of health spending2023higher is worse
Food insecurity59.9%% of population2023higher is worse
Adult obesity22.2%% of adults2024higher is worse
Health coverage index55index, 0 to 1002023higher is better

inequality

Gini index44.9index (0-100)2017higher is worse
Extreme poverty rate41.9%% of population2017higher is worse

infrastructure

Internet users51.8%% of population2024higher is better
Mobile subscriptions70.3per 100 people2024higher is better
Electricity access60.6%% of population2024higher is better
Slum share of urban population25.6%% of urban population2022higher is worse
Fixed broadband0.379per 100 people2024higher is better

labor

Informal employment89.1%% of employment2024higher is worse
Unemployment16.3%% of labor force2025higher is worse
Female labor participation48.1%% of women 15+2025no agreed direction
Male labor participation66.9%% of men 15+2025no agreed direction
Youth not in work or study38%% of 15 to 24 year olds2024higher is worse
Vulnerable employment32.6%% of employment2025higher is worse

wellbeing

Life satisfaction4.38score (0-10)2025higher is better

Values are the most recent in 2010–2025, and different measures can come from different years. The year is shown beside each. Nothing here ranks countries by merit. An area score averages whatever measures its publishers happen to collect, and the choice of what to collect is itself a judgement made by someone else. All countries · How the country data works

Countries to compare with Lesotho

Also in Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Fed. Rep., South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Also lower middle income, in other regions: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Djibouti, Egypt, Arab Rep., Haiti, Honduras, India, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, RB, West Bank and Gaza.