Lesotho vs Sweden: Rural population

Lesotho
1.31 million
in 2025
Sweden
1.16 million
in 2025
Lesotho rank
119th
Sweden rank
122nd

Rural population over time

  • Lesotho
  • Sweden
500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M196019922025

How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 1.31 million against 1.16 million in Sweden, a difference of 150,260.

That makes Lesotho's figure about 1.1 times Sweden's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Sweden ahead.

Lesotho ranks 119th and Sweden ranks 122nd of 215 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 5 and Sweden in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Lesotho Sweden Difference Ahead
1960s 795,086 1.80 million 1.00 million Sweden
1970s 1.06 million 1.44 million 374,193 Sweden
1980s 1.41 million 1.41 million 3,137 Lesotho
1990s 1.62 million 1.42 million 198,134 Lesotho
2000s 1.53 million 1.41 million 120,882 Lesotho
2010s 1.40 million 1.33 million 72,530 Lesotho
2020s 1.33 million 1.20 million 124,158 Lesotho

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rural population, Lesotho or Sweden?
Lesotho, at 1.31 million against 1.16 million in Sweden as of 2025.
What is the difference in rural population between Lesotho and Sweden?
150,260, with Lesotho ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Sweden?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do Lesotho and Sweden rank globally for rural population?
Lesotho ranks 119th and Sweden ranks 122nd of 215 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Rural population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Rural population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.