Bhutan vs Lesotho: Share of population living in rural areas
Bhutan
69.5%
in 2020
Lesotho
62.3%
in 2020
Bhutan rank
14th
Lesotho rank
17th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Bhutan
- Lesotho
How they compare
Bhutan currently reports 69.5% against 62.3% in Lesotho, a difference of 7.2%.
That makes Bhutan's figure about 1.1 times Lesotho's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Bhutan ahead.
Bhutan ranks 14th and Lesotho ranks 17th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Bhutan averaged higher in 7 and Lesotho in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bhutan | Lesotho | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 88.4% | 86.0% | 2.4% | Bhutan |
| 1960s | 84.6% | 83.5% | 1.1% | Bhutan |
| 1970s | 79.2% | 79.7% | 0.4% | Lesotho |
| 1980s | 75.6% | 71.3% | 4.3% | Bhutan |
| 1990s | 72.6% | 64.8% | 7.7% | Bhutan |
| 2000s | 70.1% | 62.8% | 7.3% | Bhutan |
| 2010s | 67.7% | 63.1% | 4.6% | Bhutan |
| 2020s | 69.5% | 62.3% | 7.3% | Bhutan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Bhutan or Lesotho?
- Bhutan, at 69.5% against 62.3% in Lesotho as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Bhutan and Lesotho?
- 7.2%, with Bhutan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bhutan and Lesotho?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Bhutan and Lesotho rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Bhutan ranks 14th and Lesotho ranks 17th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in 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 rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.