Agricultural land per capita in Lesotho
Lesotho: Agricultural land per capita was 1.02 hectares per capita in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.02 hectares per capita
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
46th
of 226 countries
All-time high
3.4 hectares per capita
in 1961
All-time low
0.9751 hectares per capita
in 2019
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land per capita in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per capita.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 1.02 hectares per capita for agricultural land per capita in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and down 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land per capita in Lesotho peaked at 3.4 hectares per capita in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.9751 hectares per capita, in 2019.
That places Lesotho 46th out of 226 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land per capita in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | hectares per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.4 hectares per capita | — |
| 1962 | 3.29 hectares per capita | -3.1% |
| 1963 | 3.2 hectares per capita | -2.9% |
| 1964 | 3.11 hectares per capita | -2.8% |
| 1965 | 3.02 hectares per capita | -2.9% |
| 1966 | 2.93 hectares per capita | -3.0% |
| 1967 | 2.83 hectares per capita | -3.5% |
| 1968 | 2.67 hectares per capita | -5.5% |
| 1969 | 2.52 hectares per capita | -5.7% |
| 1970 | 2.38 hectares per capita | -5.5% |
| 1971 | 2.24 hectares per capita | -6.0% |
| 1972 | 2.16 hectares per capita | -3.7% |
| 1973 | 2.08 hectares per capita | -3.4% |
| 1974 | 2.01 hectares per capita | -3.4% |
| 1975 | 1.96 hectares per capita | -2.7% |
| 1976 | 1.88 hectares per capita | -3.8% |
| 1977 | 1.78 hectares per capita | -5.6% |
| 1978 | 1.73 hectares per capita | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 1.69 hectares per capita | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 1.63 hectares per capita | -3.4% |
| 1981 | 1.59 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 1982 | 1.54 hectares per capita | -3.3% |
| 1983 | 1.49 hectares per capita | -3.1% |
| 1984 | 1.46 hectares per capita | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 1.42 hectares per capita | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 1.38 hectares per capita | -3.2% |
| 1987 | 1.37 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 1.35 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 1.3 hectares per capita | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 1.28 hectares per capita | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.26 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 1.25 hectares per capita | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 1.23 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 1.21 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 1.19 hectares per capita | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 1.18 hectares per capita | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 1.17 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 1.17 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 1.16 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 1.16 hectares per capita | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 1.17 hectares per capita | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 1.16 hectares per capita | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.16 hectares per capita | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.17 hectares per capita | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 1.19 hectares per capita | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 1.19 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 1.19 hectares per capita | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 1.2 hectares per capita | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.18 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 1.17 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 1.15 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 1.12 hectares per capita | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 1.1 hectares per capita | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 1.09 hectares per capita | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.06 hectares per capita | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 1.11 hectares per capita | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 1.12 hectares per capita | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 1.11 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9751 hectares per capita | -12.5% |
| 2020 | 1.05 hectares per capita | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 0.9858 hectares per capita | -6.2% |
| 2022 | 0.9953 hectares per capita | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.02 hectares per capita | +2.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.02 hectares per capita is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.4645 hectares per capita, 2.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.02 hectares per capita is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6139 hectares per capita, 1.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3 hectares per capita | 2.52 hectares per capita | 3.4 hectares per capita | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.99 hectares per capita | 1.69 hectares per capita | 2.38 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.45 hectares per capita | 1.3 hectares per capita | 1.63 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.21 hectares per capita | 1.16 hectares per capita | 1.28 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.18 hectares per capita | 1.16 hectares per capita | 1.2 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1 hectares per capita | 0.9751 hectares per capita | 1.17 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 hectares per capita | 0.9858 hectares per capita | 1.05 hectares per capita | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More agriculture & rural data for Lesotho
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0139 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.1831 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0072 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0003 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.3524 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land per capita in Lesotho?
- Agricultural land per capita in Lesotho was 1.02 hectares per capita in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural land per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4 hectares per capita in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9751 hectares per capita in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for agricultural land per capita?
- Lesotho ranks 46th out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land per capita rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural land per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Agricultural land is the sum of cropland and land used as pasture for grazing livestock.