Rural population in Lesotho
Lesotho: Rural population was 69.1% in 2024. βΌ Falling
Rural population in Lesotho, 1970β2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Lesotho is 69.1%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Lesotho peaked at 91.4% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 69.1%, in 2024.
That places Lesotho 27th out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 89.7% | 88.6% | 91.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.0% | 86.6% | 88.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.4% | 81.0% | 86.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.0% | 75.7% | 80.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.3% | 71.4% | 75.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.0% | 69.1% | 71.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More population data for Lesotho
- Population growth rate by level of development -0.201 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 190,191 (2100)
- Population density 107.36 (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.201 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.6353 % change on previous year (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 2.66 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 419 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 2.66 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 2.66 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception, annual growth rate -1.11 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Lesotho?
- Rural population in Lesotho was 69.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 91.4% in 1970.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.1% in 2024.
- How does Lesotho rank for rural population?
- Lesotho ranks 27th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release