Military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho
Lesotho: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.0875 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho, 1966–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho is 0.0875, measured in 2022.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho peaked at 0.1464 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1966.
That places Lesotho 151st out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 0 | — |
| 1967 | 0 | — |
| 1968 | 0 | — |
| 1969 | 0 | — |
| 1970 | 0 | — |
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0.0862 | — |
| 1975 | 0.0842 | -2.3% |
| 1976 | 0.0824 | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 0.0797 | -3.2% |
| 1978 | 0.0775 | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 0.0752 | -2.9% |
| 1980 | 0.0747 | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 0.1464 | +96.0% |
| 1982 | 0.1429 | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 0.1395 | -2.4% |
| 1984 | 0.1362 | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 0.1331 | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 0.1267 | -4.8% |
| 1987 | 0.1236 | -2.5% |
| 1988 | 0.1182 | -4.4% |
| 1989 | 0.1176 | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 0.1122 | -4.7% |
| 1991 | 0.1093 | -2.6% |
| 1992 | 0.1065 | -2.6% |
| 1993 | 0.1038 | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 0.1012 | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 0.0987 | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 0.0962 | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 0.0939 | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 0.097 | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 0.0949 | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 0.0929 | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 0.0929 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.1061 | +14.2% |
| 2003 | 0.1053 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 0.1046 | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.1038 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 0.1031 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 0.1022 | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 0.1014 | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.1005 | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 0.0996 | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 0.0985 | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.0975 | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.0945 | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 0.0932 | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.092 | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 0.0907 | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 0.0927 | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 0.0916 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.0905 | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 0.0894 | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.0884 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.0875 | -1.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 0.0875 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1521, 58% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 0.0875 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1245, 70% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military personnel as a share of total population 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +96.0% | 0.0747 | 0.1464 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1970s | 0.0485 | 0 | 0.0862 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1259 | 0.0747 | 0.1464 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1014 | 0.0939 | 0.1122 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1013 | 0.0929 | 0.1061 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0941 | 0.0905 | 0.0996 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0885 | 0.0875 | 0.0894 | 3 |
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 military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho?
- Military personnel as a share of total population in Lesotho was 0.0875 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1464 in 1981.
- What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1966.
- How does Lesotho rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
- Lesotho ranks 151st out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).