Arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho
Lesotho: Arable and permanent cropland was 312,000 hectares in 2011. ▼ Falling
Latest (2011)
312,000 hectares
Change on year
down 4.3%
World rank
44th
of 52 countries
All-time high
376,000 hectares
in 1975
All-time low
287,000 hectares
in 1983
Years of data
51
1961–2011
Arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho, 1961–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2011, arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho stood at 312,000 hectares.
That represents a change of down 4.3% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho peaked at 376,000 hectares in 1975 and was at its lowest, 287,000 hectares, in 1983.
Lesotho ranks 44th of 52 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 361,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 356,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 356,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 358,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 358,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 363,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 363,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 368,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 368,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 372,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 364,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 1972 | 359,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 359,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 359,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 376,000 hectares | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 359,000 hectares | -4.5% |
| 1977 | 292,000 hectares | -18.7% |
| 1978 | 293,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 309,000 hectares | +5.5% |
| 1980 | 296,000 hectares | -4.2% |
| 1981 | 302,000 hectares | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 292,000 hectares | -3.3% |
| 1983 | 287,000 hectares | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 301,000 hectares | +4.9% |
| 1985 | 308,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 291,000 hectares | -5.5% |
| 1987 | 330,000 hectares | +13.4% |
| 1988 | 343,000 hectares | +3.9% |
| 1989 | 305,000 hectares | -11.1% |
| 1990 | 321,000 hectares | +5.2% |
| 1991 | 323,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 336,000 hectares | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 334,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 329,000 hectares | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 324,000 hectares | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 326,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 329,000 hectares | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 329,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 329,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 334,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 334,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 304,000 hectares | -9.0% |
| 2003 | 304,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 314,000 hectares | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 327,000 hectares | +4.1% |
| 2006 | 307,000 hectares | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 329,000 hectares | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 362,000 hectares | +10.0% |
| 2009 | 339,000 hectares | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 326,000 hectares | -3.8% |
| 2011 | 312,000 hectares | -4.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 312,000 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.67 million hectares, 9% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 312,000 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.88 million hectares, 11% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 361,222 hectares | 356,000 hectares | 368,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 344,200 hectares | 292,000 hectares | 376,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 305,500 hectares | 287,000 hectares | 343,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 328,000 hectares | 321,000 hectares | 336,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 325,400 hectares | 304,000 hectares | 362,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 319,000 hectares | 312,000 hectares | 326,000 hectares | 2 |
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 arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho?
- Arable and permanent cropland in Lesotho was 312,000 hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest arable and permanent cropland recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 376,000 hectares in 1975.
- What is the lowest arable and permanent cropland recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 287,000 hectares in 1983.
- How does Lesotho rank for arable and permanent cropland?
- Lesotho ranks 44th out of 52 countries with data for 2011.
- Is arable and permanent cropland rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. 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, electronic files and web site, published as part of Arable and permanent cropland (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
This land category is the sum of areas under “Arable land” and "Permanent crops”. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under