2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho
Lesotho: 2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) was 62.1 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho, 2018–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho stood at 62.1 %. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 26.0% over ten years.
Lesotho ranks 17th of 121 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 49.3 % | — |
| 2019 | 49.6 % | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 50.6 % | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 54.1 % | +6.9% |
| 2022 | 57.7 % | +6.7% |
| 2023 | 61 % | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 62.1 % | +1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 49.45 % | 49.3 % | 49.6 % | 2 |
| 2020s | 57.1 % | 50.6 % | 62.1 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 14 Mauritania 65.6 % compare
- 15 Eswatini 65.5 % compare
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 62.5 % compare
- 17 Cabo Verde 32.1 % compare
- 18 Cameroon 61.2 % compare
- 19 Madagascar 60.7 % compare
- 20 Ethiopia 60 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for Lesotho
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0649 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 70.63 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6715 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5533 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 5.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho?
- 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) in Lesotho was 62.1 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 62.1 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.3 % in 2018.
- How does Lesotho rank for 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old)?
- Lesotho ranks 17th out of 121 countries with data for 2024.
- Is 2.1.2 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old) rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of 2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (15 years old and over) (no breakdown by urbanisation) — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.