Prison population rate in Lesotho
Lesotho: Prison population rate was 117 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
117
World rank
132nd
of 202 countries
All-time high
173
in 2002
All-time low
102
in 2014
Years of data
10
2000–2025
Prison population rate in Lesotho, 2000–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, prison population rate in Lesotho stood at 117.
That represents a change of up 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prison population rate in Lesotho peaked at 173 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 102, in 2014.
That places Lesotho 132nd out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Prison population rate in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 143 | — |
| 2002 | 173 | +21.0% |
| 2004 | 158 | -8.7% |
| 2006 | 126 | -20.3% |
| 2008 | 130 | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 125 | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 127 | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 102 | -19.7% |
| 2017 | 115 | +12.7% |
| 2025 | 117 | +1.7% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 117 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 106, 1.1× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 117 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 90, 1.3× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 146 | 126 | 173 | 5 |
| 2010s | 117.25 | 102 | 127 | 4 |
| 2020s | 117 | 117 | 117 | 1 |
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 prison population rate in Lesotho?
- Prison population rate in Lesotho was 117 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest prison population rate recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 173 in 2002.
- What is the lowest prison population rate recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 102 in 2014.
- How does Lesotho rank for prison population rate?
- Lesotho ranks 132nd out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
- Is prison population rate rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. 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 Prison population rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).