Births by age of mother in Lesotho
Lesotho: Births by age of mother was 8 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Births by age of mother in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, births by age of mother in Lesotho stood at 8. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.3% on the previous year and down 38.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, births by age of mother in Lesotho peaked at 40 in 1969 and was at its lowest, 8, in 2023.
That places Lesotho 92nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Births by age of mother in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 22 | — |
| 1951 | 23 | +4.5% |
| 1952 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 24 | +4.3% |
| 1960 | 24 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 26 | +8.3% |
| 1962 | 27 | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 29 | +7.4% |
| 1964 | 31 | +6.9% |
| 1965 | 33 | +6.5% |
| 1966 | 34 | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 37 | +8.8% |
| 1968 | 38 | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 40 | +5.3% |
| 1970 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 39 | -2.5% |
| 1974 | 39 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 38 | -2.6% |
| 1976 | 38 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 37 | -2.6% |
| 1978 | 37 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 36 | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 37 | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 37 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 38 | +2.7% |
| 1983 | 37 | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 37 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 36 | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 34 | -5.6% |
| 1987 | 34 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 34 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 33 | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 32 | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 30 | -6.2% |
| 1992 | 28 | -6.7% |
| 1993 | 28 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 25 | -10.7% |
| 1995 | 24 | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 23 | -4.2% |
| 1997 | 23 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 22 | -4.3% |
| 1999 | 25 | +13.6% |
| 2000 | 21 | -16.0% |
| 2001 | 20 | -4.8% |
| 2002 | 17 | -15.0% |
| 2003 | 18 | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 17 | -5.6% |
| 2005 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16 | -5.9% |
| 2007 | 15 | -6.2% |
| 2008 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16 | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 14 | -12.5% |
| 2012 | 14 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13 | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 12 | -7.7% |
| 2015 | 11 | -8.3% |
| 2016 | 12 | +9.1% |
| 2017 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 11 | -8.3% |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8 | -27.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 8 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 49, 16% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 8 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 130.5, 6% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Births by age of mother in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | -27.3% | 11 | 8 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 23 | 22 | 24 | 10 |
| 1960s | 31.9 | 24 | 40 | 10 |
| 1970s | 38.4 | 36 | 40 | 10 |
| 1980s | 35.7 | 33 | 38 | 10 |
| 1990s | 26 | 22 | 32 | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.2 | 15 | 21 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.5 | 8 | 12 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More population data for Lesotho
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1905 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.14 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1905 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.3315 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.6353 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.201 (2100)
- Population density 107.36 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 190,191 (2100)
- Population growth rate by level of development -0.201 (2100)
- Urbanization vs gdp, annual growth rate 2.27 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is births by age of mother in Lesotho?
- Births by age of mother in Lesotho was 8 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest births by age of mother recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 40 in 1969.
- What is the lowest births by age of mother recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 2023.
- How does Lesotho rank for births by age of mother?
- Lesotho ranks 92nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is births by age of mother rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Births by age of mother. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).