Cereal production in Lesotho
Lesotho: Cereal production was 67,527 tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
67,527 tonnes
Change on year
down 52.8%
World rank
147th
of 186 countries
All-time high
288,249 tonnes
in 1978
All-time low
25,678 tonnes
in 2016
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cereal production in Lesotho, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cereal production in Lesotho is 67,527 tonnes, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 52.8% on the previous year and down 41.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in Lesotho peaked at 288,249 tonnes in 1978 and was at its lowest, 25,678 tonnes, in 2016.
Lesotho ranks 147th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Cereal production in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 226,648 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 223,800 tonnes | -1.3% |
| 1963 | 223,400 tonnes | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 222,000 tonnes | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 216,800 tonnes | -2.3% |
| 1966 | 223,400 tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 217,300 tonnes | -2.7% |
| 1968 | 212,506 tonnes | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 211,684 tonnes | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 182,536 tonnes | -13.8% |
| 1971 | 197,254 tonnes | +8.1% |
| 1972 | 104,350 tonnes | -47.1% |
| 1973 | 150,350 tonnes | +44.1% |
| 1974 | 264,905 tonnes | +76.2% |
| 1975 | 154,422 tonnes | -41.7% |
| 1976 | 119,658 tonnes | -22.5% |
| 1977 | 251,026 tonnes | +109.8% |
| 1978 | 288,249 tonnes | +14.8% |
| 1979 | 228,837 tonnes | -20.6% |
| 1980 | 194,497 tonnes | -15.0% |
| 1981 | 171,796 tonnes | -11.7% |
| 1982 | 125,048 tonnes | -27.2% |
| 1983 | 123,097 tonnes | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 131,679 tonnes | +7.0% |
| 1985 | 167,107 tonnes | +26.9% |
| 1986 | 132,455 tonnes | -20.7% |
| 1987 | 146,191 tonnes | +10.4% |
| 1988 | 233,910 tonnes | +60.0% |
| 1989 | 199,365 tonnes | -14.8% |
| 1990 | 242,119 tonnes | +21.4% |
| 1991 | 67,254 tonnes | -72.2% |
| 1992 | 93,800 tonnes | +39.5% |
| 1993 | 153,256 tonnes | +63.4% |
| 1994 | 222,853 tonnes | +45.4% |
| 1995 | 81,221 tonnes | -63.6% |
| 1996 | 257,418 tonnes | +216.9% |
| 1997 | 206,026 tonnes | -20.0% |
| 1998 | 171,933 tonnes | -16.5% |
| 1999 | 173,865 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 149,723 tonnes | -13.9% |
| 2001 | 254,960 tonnes | +70.3% |
| 2002 | 149,947 tonnes | -41.2% |
| 2003 | 116,475 tonnes | -22.3% |
| 2004 | 109,280 tonnes | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 111,647 tonnes | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 87,205 tonnes | -21.9% |
| 2007 | 71,887 tonnes | -17.6% |
| 2008 | 72,997 tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 74,121 tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 173,193 tonnes | +133.7% |
| 2011 | 103,897 tonnes | -40.0% |
| 2012 | 101,382 tonnes | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 107,452 tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2014 | 115,733 tonnes | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 82,840 tonnes | -28.4% |
| 2016 | 25,678 tonnes | -69.0% |
| 2017 | 216,012 tonnes | +741.2% |
| 2018 | 157,857 tonnes | -26.9% |
| 2019 | 35,092 tonnes | -77.8% |
| 2020 | 28,536 tonnes | -18.7% |
| 2021 | 98,326 tonnes | +244.6% |
| 2022 | 82,450 tonnes | -16.1% |
| 2023 | 142,973 tonnes | +73.4% |
| 2024 | 67,527 tonnes | -52.8% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 67,527 tonnes is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.95 million tonnes, 3% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 67,527 tonnes is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.65 million tonnes, 4% 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 tonnes | 216,012 tonnes |
| 2021 | +244.6% | 28,536 tonnes | 98,326 tonnes |
| 1996 | +216.9% | 81,221 tonnes | 257,418 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 219,726 tonnes | 211,684 tonnes | 226,648 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 194,159 tonnes | 104,350 tonnes | 288,249 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 162,514 tonnes | 123,097 tonnes | 233,910 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 166,974 tonnes | 67,254 tonnes | 257,418 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 119,824 tonnes | 71,887 tonnes | 254,960 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 111,914 tonnes | 25,678 tonnes | 216,012 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 83,962 tonnes | 28,536 tonnes | 142,973 tonnes | 5 |
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 67,527 tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cereal production recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 288,249 tonnes in 1978.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 25,678 tonnes in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank for cereal production?
- Lesotho ranks 147th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. 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 Cereal production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.