Natural population growth in Lesotho
Lesotho: Natural population growth was 1.35 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.35
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
82nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
2.82
in 1981
All-time low
0.7832
in 2006
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Natural population growth in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for natural population growth in Lesotho is 1.35, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural population growth in Lesotho peaked at 2.82 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.7832, in 2006.
Lesotho ranks 82nd 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.
Natural population growth in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.93 | — |
| 1951 | 2.09 | +8.2% |
| 1952 | 2.2 | +5.5% |
| 1953 | 2.31 | +4.7% |
| 1954 | 2.42 | +5.1% |
| 1955 | 2.5 | +3.3% |
| 1956 | 2.59 | +3.3% |
| 1957 | 2.65 | +2.4% |
| 1958 | 2.68 | +1.4% |
| 1959 | 2.7 | +0.7% |
| 1960 | 2.71 | +0.4% |
| 1961 | 2.71 | -0.0% |
| 1962 | 2.7 | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 2.68 | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 2.67 | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 2.66 | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 2.65 | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 2.62 | -1.1% |
| 1968 | 2.58 | -1.3% |
| 1969 | 2.56 | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 2.54 | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 2.54 | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 2.54 | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 2.55 | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 2.6 | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 2.66 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 2.72 | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 2.76 | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 2.79 | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 2.81 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 2.82 | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 2.82 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2.81 | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 2.8 | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 2.77 | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 2.74 | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 2.71 | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 2.8 | +3.2% |
| 1988 | 2.71 | -3.2% |
| 1989 | 2.61 | -3.9% |
| 1990 | 2.49 | -4.4% |
| 1991 | 2.39 | -4.0% |
| 1992 | 2.27 | -4.9% |
| 1993 | 2.13 | -6.3% |
| 1994 | 2 | -5.9% |
| 1995 | 1.92 | -4.4% |
| 1996 | 1.84 | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 1.74 | -5.1% |
| 1998 | 1.55 | -11.3% |
| 1999 | 1.37 | -11.6% |
| 2000 | 1.24 | -9.5% |
| 2001 | 1.16 | -6.3% |
| 2002 | 1.12 | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 1.01 | -9.2% |
| 2004 | 0.8762 | -13.6% |
| 2005 | 0.8106 | -7.5% |
| 2006 | 0.7832 | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 0.9094 | +16.1% |
| 2008 | 0.9839 | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 1.03 | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 1.1 | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 1.27 | +16.2% |
| 2012 | 1.36 | +6.5% |
| 2013 | 1.45 | +6.8% |
| 2014 | 1.49 | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 1.52 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 1.57 | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 1.56 | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 1.52 | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 1.46 | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 1.37 | -5.9% |
| 2021 | 1.23 | -10.5% |
| 2022 | 1.35 | +9.6% |
| 2023 | 1.35 | -0.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.35 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.93, 70% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.35 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.39, 56% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.41 | 1.93 | 2.7 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.65 | 2.56 | 2.71 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.65 | 2.54 | 2.81 | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.76 | 2.61 | 2.82 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.97 | 1.37 | 2.49 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9917 | 0.7832 | 1.24 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.43 | 1.1 | 1.57 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.32 | 1.23 | 1.37 | 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 natural population growth in Lesotho?
- Natural population growth in Lesotho was 1.35 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural population growth recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 2.82 in 1981.
- What is the lowest natural population growth recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7832 in 2006.
- How does Lesotho rank for natural population growth?
- Lesotho ranks 82nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is natural population growth rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. 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 Natural population growth. 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).