Cereals, primary — Area harvested in Lesotho
Lesotho: Cereals, primary — Area harvested was 111,896 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Cereals, primary — Area harvested in Lesotho, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cereals, primary — area harvested in Lesotho is 111,896 ha, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 37.1% on the previous year and down 33.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereals, primary — area harvested in Lesotho peaked at 316,737 ha in 1971 and was at its lowest, 49,777 ha, in 2019.
That places Lesotho 129th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Cereals, primary — Area harvested in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 271,059 ha | — |
| 1962 | 274,700 ha | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 274,700 ha | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 274,200 ha | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 286,700 ha | +4.6% |
| 1966 | 279,500 ha | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 290,900 ha | +4.1% |
| 1968 | 312,439 ha | +7.4% |
| 1969 | 311,127 ha | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 301,455 ha | -3.1% |
| 1971 | 316,737 ha | +5.1% |
| 1972 | 278,192 ha | -12.2% |
| 1973 | 255,700 ha | -8.1% |
| 1974 | 291,267 ha | +13.9% |
| 1975 | 219,636 ha | -24.6% |
| 1976 | 186,945 ha | -14.9% |
| 1977 | 166,497 ha | -10.9% |
| 1978 | 205,573 ha | +23.5% |
| 1979 | 200,825 ha | -2.3% |
| 1980 | 202,642 ha | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 206,760 ha | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 188,220 ha | -9.0% |
| 1983 | 181,070 ha | -3.8% |
| 1984 | 202,934 ha | +12.1% |
| 1985 | 231,890 ha | +14.3% |
| 1986 | 194,965 ha | -15.9% |
| 1987 | 242,934 ha | +24.6% |
| 1988 | 281,473 ha | +15.9% |
| 1989 | 216,845 ha | -23.0% |
| 1990 | 233,506 ha | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 146,106 ha | -37.4% |
| 1992 | 153,239 ha | +4.9% |
| 1993 | 157,568 ha | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 272,374 ha | +72.9% |
| 1995 | 104,613 ha | -61.6% |
| 1996 | 217,487 ha | +107.9% |
| 1997 | 202,828 ha | -6.7% |
| 1998 | 127,047 ha | -37.4% |
| 1999 | 184,312 ha | +45.1% |
| 2000 | 208,295 ha | +13.0% |
| 2001 | 256,109 ha | +23.0% |
| 2002 | 203,652 ha | -20.5% |
| 2003 | 191,237 ha | -6.1% |
| 2004 | 183,527 ha | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 162,555 ha | -11.4% |
| 2006 | 177,688 ha | +9.3% |
| 2007 | 173,484 ha | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 194,908 ha | +12.3% |
| 2009 | 184,308 ha | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 190,512 ha | +3.4% |
| 2011 | 156,406 ha | -17.9% |
| 2012 | 154,640 ha | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 139,734 ha | -9.6% |
| 2014 | 169,408 ha | +21.2% |
| 2015 | 125,225 ha | -26.1% |
| 2016 | 54,468 ha | -56.5% |
| 2017 | 218,157 ha | +300.5% |
| 2018 | 220,490 ha | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 49,777 ha | -77.4% |
| 2020 | 65,331 ha | +31.2% |
| 2021 | 101,101 ha | +54.8% |
| 2022 | 113,115 ha | +11.9% |
| 2023 | 177,938 ha | +57.3% |
| 2024 | 111,896 ha | -37.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 111,896 ha is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 777,524 ha, 14% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 111,896 ha is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.26 million ha, 9% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cereals, primary — Area harvested 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 | +300.5% | 54,468 ha | 218,157 ha |
| 1996 | +107.9% | 104,613 ha | 217,487 ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 286,147 ha | 271,059 ha | 312,439 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 242,283 ha | 166,497 ha | 316,737 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 214,973 ha | 181,070 ha | 281,473 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 179,908 ha | 104,613 ha | 272,374 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 193,576 ha | 162,555 ha | 256,109 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 147,882 ha | 49,777 ha | 220,490 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 113,876 ha | 65,331 ha | 177,938 ha | 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 cereals, primary — area harvested in Lesotho?
- Cereals, primary — area harvested in Lesotho was 111,896 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cereals, primary — area harvested recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 316,737 ha in 1971.
- What is the lowest cereals, primary — area harvested recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 49,777 ha in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for cereals, primary — area harvested?
- Lesotho ranks 129th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereals, primary — area harvested rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.9%. 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, published as part of Cereals, primary — Area harvested. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
Crop and livestock statistics are recorded for 278 products, covering the following categories: 1) CROPS PRIMARY: Cereals, Citrus Fruit, Fibre Crops, Fruit, Oil Crops, Oil Crops and Cakes in Oil Equivalent, Pulses, Roots and Tubers, Sugar Crops, Treenuts and Vegetables. Data are expressed in terms of area harvested, production quantity and yield. Cereals: Area and 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 or used for grazing are therefore excluded. 2) CROPS PROCESSED: Beer of barley; Cotton lint; Cottonseed; Margarine, short; Molasses; Oil, coconut (copra); Oil, cottonseed; Oil, groundnut; Oil, linseed; Oil, maize; Oil, olive, virgin; Oil, palm; Oil, palm kernel; Oil, rapeseed; Oil, safflower; Oil, sesame; Oil, soybean; Oil, sunflower; Palm kernels; Sugar Raw Centrifugal; Wine. 3) LIVE ANIMALS: Animals live n.e.s.; Asses; Beehives; Buffaloes; Camelids, other; Camels; Cattle; Chickens; Ducks; Geese and guinea fowls; Goats; Horses; Mules; Pigeons, other birds; Pigs; Rabbits and hares; Rodents, other; Sheep; Turkeys. 4) LIVESTOCK PRIMARY: Beeswax; Eggs (various types); Hides buffalo, fresh; Hides, cattle, fresh; Honey, natural; Meat (ass, bird nes, buffalo, camel, cattle, chicken, duck, game, goat, goose and guinea fowl, horse, mule, Meat nes, meat other camelids, Meat other rodents, pig, rabbit, sheep, turkey); Milk (buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep); Offals, nes; Silk-worm cocoons, reelable; Skins (goat, sheep); Snails, not sea; Wool, greasy. 5) LIVESTOCK PROCESSED: Butter (of milk from sheep, goat, buffalo, cow); Cheese (of milk from goat, buffalo, sheep, cow milk); Cheese of skimmed cow milk; Cream fresh; Ghee (cow and buffalo milk); Lard; Milk (dry buttermilk, skimmed condensed, skimmed cow, skimmed dried, skimmed evaporated, whole condensed, whole dried, whole evaporated); Silk raw; Tallow; Whey (condensed and dry); Yoghurt.