Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho

Lesotho: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 32.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
32.8%
World rank
61st
of 179 countries
All-time high
32.8%
in 2020
All-time low
20.5%
in 1980
Years of data
9
1980–2020

Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho, 1980–2020

01020301980200020201980: 20.5 %1985: 29.2 %1990: 28.3 %1995: 28.8 %2000: 28.1 %2005: 29.8 %2010: 30.1 %2015: 29.8 %2020: 32.8 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho stood at 32.8%. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.

That represents a change of up 9.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho peaked at 32.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 20.5%, in 1980.

Lesotho ranks 61st of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 24.9% 20.5% 29.2% 2
1990s 28.5% 28.3% 28.8% 2
2000s 28.9% 28.1% 29.8% 2
2010s 30.0% 29.8% 30.1% 2
2020s 32.8% 32.8% 32.8% 1

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 58 El Salvador 33.6% compare
  2. 59 Paraguay 33.4% compare
  3. 62 Cyprus 32.2% compare
  4. 63 Namibia 32.2% compare
  5. 64 Denmark 31.7% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Lesotho was 32.8% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 32.8% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 20.5% in 1980.
How does Lesotho rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Lesotho ranks 61st out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,452 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.