Cereal production in Lesotho
Lesotho: Cereal production was 67,527 tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
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 146th of 185 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
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 166.92 million current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.5% (2025)
- Rural population 1.31 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 55.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 5.1% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.5% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.5% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 177,933 hectares (2023)
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 146th out of 185 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.