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COUNTRY PROFILE / LSO

Lesotho

Lesotho / LS

01 / BASIC INFORMATION

Lesotho in numbers.

Area30,360 kmยฒWorld # 138 โ†’Population2.4MWorld # 144 โ†’Population density77.8 people/kmยฒWorld # 123 โ†’Life expectancy57.8 yearsWorld # 211 โ†’GDP per capitaUS$ 1,089World # 194 โ†’

02 / ALL RANKINGS

Lesotho across 51 rankings.

Essentials

Area30,360 kmยฒWorld # 138 / 2023 โ†’Population2.4MWorld # 144 / 2025 โ†’Population density77.8 people/kmยฒWorld # 123 / Population 2025 ยท area 2023 โ†’Independence / founding reference year1,966World # 59 / CIA World Factbook 2025 archive โ†’

People & society

Population growth1.1%World # 96 / 2025 โ†’Total fertility rate2.7World # 68 / 2024 โ†’Birth rate23.8 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 56 / 2024 โ†’Death rate10.5 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 29 / 2024 โ†’Median age21.4 yearsWorld # 183 / 2023 โ†’Population aged 65+3.9%World # 167 / 2025 โ†’Population aged 0โ€“1434.1%World # 54 / 2025 โ†’Urban population44.7%World # 161 / 2025 โ†’Net migration-5.2KWorld # 136 / 2025 โ†’Net migration rate-2.2 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 161 / 2025 โ†’International migrant share0.6%World # 187 / 2024 โ†’

Health

Life expectancy57.8 yearsWorld # 211 / 2024 โ†’Healthy life expectancy44.6 yearsWorld # 185 / 2021 โ†’Physicians per 1,000 people0.2 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 159 / 2022 โ†’Smoking rate28%World # 38 / 2024 โ†’

Economy & work

GDP per capitaUS$ 1,089World # 194 / 2025 โ†’Nominal GDPUS$ 2.6BWorld # 185 / 2025 โ†’GDP per capita (PPP)US$ 3,184World # 184 / 2025 โ†’Real GDP growth2%World # 145 / 2025 โ†’Inflation4.3%World # 56 / 2025 โ†’Unemployment16.3%World # 14 / 2025 โ†’Youth unemployment24.7%World # 32 / 2025 โ†’Average annual working hoursNo dataNo rank โ†’Average sleep timeNo dataNo rank โ†’Income inequality (Gini index)44.9World # 18 / 2017 โ†’

Education & science

Education spending (% of GDP)6.6%World # 17 / 2024 โ†’Researchers per million people32.2 per million peopleWorld # 122 / 2023 โ†’R&D spending (% of GDP)0.1%World # 123 / 2023 โ†’Patent applications per million people0.4 per million peopleWorld # 130 / 2019 โ†’

Food & agriculture

Calorie supply per person1,873 kcal/dayWorld # 188 / 2023 โ†’Meat supply per person18.8 kg/person/yearWorld # 154 / 2023 โ†’Rice productionNo dataNo rank โ†’Wheat production4.2K tWorld # 106 / 2024 โ†’Coffee productionNo dataNo rank โ†’Coffee consumption per personNo dataNo rank โ†’

Environment & digital

Forest area1.1%World # 193 / 2023 โ†’Electricity use per personNo dataNo rank โ†’COโ‚‚ emissions per person1.1 tWorld # 157 / 2024 โ†’Internet use51.8%World # 159 / 2024 โ†’Mobile subscriptions70.3 per 100 peopleWorld # 179 / 2024 โ†’

Safety & politics

Homicide rateNo dataNo rank โ†’Road traffic death rate31.9 per 100,000 peopleWorld # 19 / 2019 โ†’Military spending (% of GDP)1.6%World # 86 / 2024 โ†’Women in parliament25%World # 101 / 2025 โ†’

Travel & culture

International tourist arrivals1.1MWorld # 91 / 2019 โ†’International tourism receiptsNo dataNo rank โ†’World Heritage sites1 sitesWorld # 138 / 2026-07 โ†’

03 / CULTURE & INDUSTRY

Society, culture and industry.

Largest religious groupChristianity2014 / 97.6%Main languageSouthern SothoMain functional languageLeading electricity sourceHydro2022Top export categoryGems, precious metals and glass2023Most mapped OSM sportFootball and futsal395 facilities countedWriting directionLeft to rightSouthern SothoLargest staple-food calorie sourceMaize2023Current currencyRandLSL / ZARDriving sideLeft-hand trafficSide of the road used by trafficCountry-name originNature and resourcesSesotho