Cereal production in Lesotho
Lesotho: Cereal production was 143,080 metric tons in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
143,080 metric tons
Change on year
up 73.5%
World rank
140th
of 181 countries
All-time high
288,249 metric tons
in 1978
All-time low
25,678 metric tons
in 2016
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Cereal production in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in metric tons.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 143,080 metric tons for cereal production in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 73.5% on the previous year and up 33.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in Lesotho peaked at 288,249 metric tons in 1978 and was at its lowest, 25,678 metric tons, in 2016.
Lesotho ranks 140th of 181 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Cereal production in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | metric tons | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 226,648 metric tons | — |
| 1962 | 223,800 metric tons | -1.3% |
| 1963 | 223,400 metric tons | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 222,000 metric tons | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 216,800 metric tons | -2.3% |
| 1966 | 223,400 metric tons | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 217,300 metric tons | -2.7% |
| 1968 | 212,506 metric tons | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 211,684 metric tons | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 182,536 metric tons | -13.8% |
| 1971 | 197,254 metric tons | +8.1% |
| 1972 | 104,350 metric tons | -47.1% |
| 1973 | 150,350 metric tons | +44.1% |
| 1974 | 264,905 metric tons | +76.2% |
| 1975 | 154,422 metric tons | -41.7% |
| 1976 | 119,658 metric tons | -22.5% |
| 1977 | 251,026 metric tons | +109.8% |
| 1978 | 288,249 metric tons | +14.8% |
| 1979 | 228,837 metric tons | -20.6% |
| 1980 | 194,497 metric tons | -15.0% |
| 1981 | 171,796 metric tons | -11.7% |
| 1982 | 125,048 metric tons | -27.2% |
| 1983 | 123,097 metric tons | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 131,679 metric tons | +7.0% |
| 1985 | 167,107 metric tons | +26.9% |
| 1986 | 132,455 metric tons | -20.7% |
| 1987 | 146,191 metric tons | +10.4% |
| 1988 | 233,910 metric tons | +60.0% |
| 1989 | 199,365 metric tons | -14.8% |
| 1990 | 242,119 metric tons | +21.4% |
| 1991 | 67,254 metric tons | -72.2% |
| 1992 | 93,800 metric tons | +39.5% |
| 1993 | 153,256 metric tons | +63.4% |
| 1994 | 222,853 metric tons | +45.4% |
| 1995 | 81,221 metric tons | -63.6% |
| 1996 | 257,418 metric tons | +216.9% |
| 1997 | 206,026 metric tons | -20.0% |
| 1998 | 171,933 metric tons | -16.5% |
| 1999 | 173,865 metric tons | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 149,723 metric tons | -13.9% |
| 2001 | 254,960 metric tons | +70.3% |
| 2002 | 149,947 metric tons | -41.2% |
| 2003 | 116,475 metric tons | -22.3% |
| 2004 | 109,280 metric tons | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 111,647 metric tons | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 87,205 metric tons | -21.9% |
| 2007 | 71,887 metric tons | -17.6% |
| 2008 | 72,997 metric tons | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 74,121 metric tons | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 173,193 metric tons | +133.7% |
| 2011 | 103,897 metric tons | -40.0% |
| 2012 | 101,382 metric tons | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 107,452 metric tons | +6.0% |
| 2014 | 115,733 metric tons | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 82,840 metric tons | -28.4% |
| 2016 | 25,678 metric tons | -69.0% |
| 2017 | 216,012 metric tons | +741.2% |
| 2018 | 157,857 metric tons | -26.9% |
| 2019 | 35,092 metric tons | -77.8% |
| 2020 | 28,530 metric tons | -18.7% |
| 2021 | 98,315 metric tons | +244.6% |
| 2022 | 82,444 metric tons | -16.1% |
| 2023 | 143,080 metric tons | +73.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 143,080 metric tons is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.89 million metric tons, 8% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 143,080 metric tons is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.10 million metric tons, 7% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cereal production in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +741.2% | 25,678 metric tons | 216,012 metric tons |
| 2021 | +244.6% | 28,530 metric tons | 98,315 metric tons |
| 1996 | +216.9% | 81,221 metric tons | 257,418 metric tons |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 219,726 metric tons | 211,684 metric tons | 226,648 metric tons | 9 |
| 1970s | 194,159 metric tons | 104,350 metric tons | 288,249 metric tons | 10 |
| 1980s | 162,514 metric tons | 123,097 metric tons | 233,910 metric tons | 10 |
| 1990s | 166,974 metric tons | 67,254 metric tons | 257,418 metric tons | 10 |
| 2000s | 119,824 metric tons | 71,887 metric tons | 254,960 metric tons | 10 |
| 2010s | 111,914 metric tons | 25,678 metric tons | 216,012 metric tons | 10 |
| 2020s | 88,092 metric tons | 28,530 metric tons | 143,080 metric tons | 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 cereal production in Lesotho?
- Cereal production in Lesotho was 143,080 metric tons in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest cereal production recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 288,249 metric tons in 1978.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 25,678 metric tons in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank for cereal production?
- Lesotho ranks 140th out of 181 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Cereal production (metric tons). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.