Agricultural land use, per capita in Lesotho
Lesotho: Agricultural land use, per capita was 1.02 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land use, per capita in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 1.02 hectares per person for agricultural land use, 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 use, per capita in Lesotho peaked at 3.4 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.9751 hectares per person, in 2019.
That places Lesotho 41st out of 209 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 use, per capita in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.4 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 3.29 hectares per person | -3.1% |
| 1963 | 3.2 hectares per person | -2.9% |
| 1964 | 3.11 hectares per person | -2.8% |
| 1965 | 3.02 hectares per person | -2.9% |
| 1966 | 2.93 hectares per person | -3.0% |
| 1967 | 2.83 hectares per person | -3.5% |
| 1968 | 2.67 hectares per person | -5.5% |
| 1969 | 2.52 hectares per person | -5.7% |
| 1970 | 2.38 hectares per person | -5.5% |
| 1971 | 2.24 hectares per person | -6.0% |
| 1972 | 2.16 hectares per person | -3.7% |
| 1973 | 2.08 hectares per person | -3.4% |
| 1974 | 2.01 hectares per person | -3.4% |
| 1975 | 1.96 hectares per person | -2.7% |
| 1976 | 1.88 hectares per person | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 1.78 hectares per person | -5.6% |
| 1978 | 1.73 hectares per person | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 1.69 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 1.63 hectares per person | -3.4% |
| 1981 | 1.59 hectares per person | -2.6% |
| 1982 | 1.54 hectares per person | -3.3% |
| 1983 | 1.49 hectares per person | -3.1% |
| 1984 | 1.46 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 1.42 hectares per person | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 1.38 hectares per person | -3.2% |
| 1987 | 1.37 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 1.35 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 1.3 hectares per person | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 1.28 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.26 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 1.25 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 1.23 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 1.21 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 1.19 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 1.18 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 1.17 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 1.17 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 1.16 hectares per person | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 1.16 hectares per person | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 1.17 hectares per person | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 1.16 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.16 hectares per person | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.17 hectares per person | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 1.19 hectares per person | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 1.19 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 1.19 hectares per person | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 1.2 hectares per person | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.18 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 1.17 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 1.15 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 1.12 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 1.1 hectares per person | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 1.09 hectares per person | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.06 hectares per person | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 1.11 hectares per person | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 1.12 hectares per person | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 1.11 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9751 hectares per person | -12.5% |
| 2020 | 1.05 hectares per person | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 0.9858 hectares per person | -6.2% |
| 2022 | 0.9953 hectares per person | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.02 hectares per person | +2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3 hectares per person | 2.52 hectares per person | 3.4 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.99 hectares per person | 1.69 hectares per person | 2.38 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.45 hectares per person | 1.3 hectares per person | 1.63 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.21 hectares per person | 1.16 hectares per person | 1.28 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.18 hectares per person | 1.16 hectares per person | 1.2 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1 hectares per person | 0.9751 hectares per person | 1.17 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 hectares per person | 0.9858 hectares per person | 1.05 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
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 agricultural land use, per capita in Lesotho?
- Agricultural land use, per capita in Lesotho was 1.02 hectares per person in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest agricultural land use, per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use, per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9751 hectares per person in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for agricultural land use, per capita?
- Lesotho ranks 41st out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use, 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 Statizoid (derived), published as part of Agricultural land use, per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Agricultural land use divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Agricultural land use ÷ Population, total
Computed from
- Agricultural land use Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
- Population, total World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Agricultural land use divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.