Lesotho vs Uganda: Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas
Lesotho
12.4%
in 2020
Uganda
14.8%
in 2020
Lesotho rank
186th
Uganda rank
183rd
Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Lesotho
- Uganda
How they compare
Uganda currently reports 14.8% against 12.4% in Lesotho, a difference of 2.4%.
That makes Uganda's figure about 1.2 times Lesotho's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Uganda ahead.
Lesotho ranks 186th and Uganda ranks 183rd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 3 and Uganda in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | Uganda | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 3.1% | 3.1% | Uganda |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 3.8% | 3.8% | Uganda |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | Uganda |
| 1980s | 7.2% | 5.3% | 2.0% | Lesotho |
| 1990s | 10.0% | 7.7% | 2.4% | Lesotho |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 10.6% | 0.1% | Lesotho |
| 2010s | 11.1% | 13.0% | 2.0% | Uganda |
| 2020s | 12.4% | 14.8% | 2.5% | Uganda |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas, Lesotho or Uganda?
- Uganda, at 14.8% against 12.4% in Lesotho as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas between Lesotho and Uganda?
- 2.4%, with Uganda ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Uganda?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Lesotho and Uganda rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Lesotho ranks 186th and Uganda ranks 183rd of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.