Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected in Lesotho
Lesotho: Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected was 2.41 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
2.41
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
81st
of 236 countries
All-time high
4.28
in 1980
All-time low
2.41
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 2.41 for effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to in Lesotho peaked at 4.28 in 1980 and was at its lowest, 2.41, in 2023.
Lesotho ranks 81st of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.98 | — |
| 1951 | 4.03 | +1.3% |
| 1952 | 4.07 | +1.1% |
| 1953 | 4.11 | +1.0% |
| 1954 | 4.17 | +1.3% |
| 1955 | 4.19 | +0.5% |
| 1956 | 4.21 | +0.5% |
| 1957 | 4.22 | +0.2% |
| 1958 | 4.22 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 4.22 | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 4.2 | -0.3% |
| 1961 | 4.19 | -0.3% |
| 1962 | 4.17 | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 4.15 | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 4.12 | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 4.11 | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 4.08 | -0.6% |
| 1967 | 4.07 | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 4.04 | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 4.03 | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 4.02 | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 4.03 | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 4.04 | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 4.04 | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 4.11 | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 4.18 | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 4.24 | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 4.25 | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 4.27 | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 4.28 | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 4.28 | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 4.28 | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 4.28 | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 4.26 | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 4.23 | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 4.21 | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 4.18 | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 4.14 | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 4.07 | -1.6% |
| 1989 | 3.99 | -2.1% |
| 1990 | 3.88 | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 3.79 | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 3.69 | -2.7% |
| 1993 | 3.56 | -3.7% |
| 1994 | 3.44 | -3.4% |
| 1995 | 3.37 | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 3.32 | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 3.25 | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 3.12 | -4.2% |
| 1999 | 3 | -3.7% |
| 2000 | 2.95 | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 2.98 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 3.03 | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 2.98 | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 2.9 | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 2.85 | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 2.85 | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 2.89 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 2.87 | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 2.81 | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 2.78 | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 2.88 | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 2.85 | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 2.85 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.82 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 2.81 | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 2.79 | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 2.73 | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 2.66 | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 2.58 | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 2.52 | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 2.46 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 2.42 | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 2.41 | -0.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 2.41 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.96, 81% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 2.41 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.63, 66% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.14 | 3.98 | 4.22 | 10 |
| 1960s | 4.12 | 4.03 | 4.2 | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.15 | 4.02 | 4.28 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.19 | 3.99 | 4.28 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.44 | 3 | 3.88 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.91 | 2.81 | 3.03 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.78 | 2.58 | 2.88 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.45 | 2.41 | 2.52 | 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 effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to in Lesotho?
- Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to in Lesotho was 2.41 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 4.28 in 1980.
- What is the lowest effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.41 in 2023.
- How does Lesotho rank for effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to?
- Lesotho ranks 81st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. 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 Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to survive until childbearing age. 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).