Corn yields in Lesotho
Lesotho: Corn yields was 0.6327 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
0.6327 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 25.6%
World rank
169th
of 171 countries
All-time high
1.57 tonnes per hectare
in 1977
All-time low
0.4159 tonnes per hectare
in 2009
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn yields in Lesotho, 1961–2024
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
In 2024, corn yields in Lesotho stood at 0.6327 tonnes per hectare.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 25.6% on the previous year and down 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn yields in Lesotho peaked at 1.57 tonnes per hectare in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.4159 tonnes per hectare, in 2009.
Lesotho ranks 169th of 171 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Corn yields in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8148 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.8148 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.8148 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.8148 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.7097 tonnes per hectare | -12.9% |
| 1966 | 0.7786 tonnes per hectare | +9.7% |
| 1967 | 0.7432 tonnes per hectare | -4.5% |
| 1968 | 0.6822 tonnes per hectare | -8.2% |
| 1969 | 0.7174 tonnes per hectare | +5.2% |
| 1970 | 0.5146 tonnes per hectare | -28.3% |
| 1971 | 0.5481 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 1972 | 0.5364 tonnes per hectare | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 0.6087 tonnes per hectare | +13.5% |
| 1974 | 0.9448 tonnes per hectare | +55.2% |
| 1975 | 0.6518 tonnes per hectare | -31.0% |
| 1976 | 0.5792 tonnes per hectare | -11.1% |
| 1977 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | +170.6% |
| 1978 | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | -10.2% |
| 1979 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -21.0% |
| 1980 | 0.9571 tonnes per hectare | -13.9% |
| 1981 | 0.8467 tonnes per hectare | -11.5% |
| 1982 | 0.7265 tonnes per hectare | -14.2% |
| 1983 | 0.736 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 0.68 tonnes per hectare | -7.6% |
| 1985 | 0.7822 tonnes per hectare | +15.0% |
| 1986 | 0.7089 tonnes per hectare | -9.4% |
| 1987 | 0.6664 tonnes per hectare | -6.0% |
| 1988 | 0.9221 tonnes per hectare | +38.4% |
| 1989 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | +13.6% |
| 1990 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 0.5408 tonnes per hectare | -50.8% |
| 1992 | 0.5792 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 1993 | 0.8875 tonnes per hectare | +53.2% |
| 1994 | 0.8629 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 0.8126 tonnes per hectare | -5.8% |
| 1996 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +53.7% |
| 1997 | 0.9857 tonnes per hectare | -21.1% |
| 1998 | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | +33.6% |
| 1999 | 0.941 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 2000 | 0.6773 tonnes per hectare | -28.0% |
| 2001 | 0.8913 tonnes per hectare | +31.6% |
| 2002 | 0.8088 tonnes per hectare | -9.3% |
| 2003 | 0.6439 tonnes per hectare | -20.4% |
| 2004 | 0.6347 tonnes per hectare | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 0.7011 tonnes per hectare | +10.5% |
| 2006 | 0.5567 tonnes per hectare | -20.6% |
| 2007 | 0.4877 tonnes per hectare | -12.4% |
| 2008 | 0.4349 tonnes per hectare | -10.8% |
| 2009 | 0.4159 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9071 tonnes per hectare | +118.1% |
| 2011 | 0.6344 tonnes per hectare | -30.1% |
| 2012 | 0.6952 tonnes per hectare | +9.6% |
| 2013 | 0.8227 tonnes per hectare | +18.3% |
| 2014 | 0.6786 tonnes per hectare | -17.5% |
| 2015 | 0.6571 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 0.468 tonnes per hectare | -28.8% |
| 2017 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | +122.4% |
| 2018 | 0.8684 tonnes per hectare | -16.6% |
| 2019 | 0.7688 tonnes per hectare | -11.5% |
| 2020 | 0.4569 tonnes per hectare | -40.6% |
| 2021 | 1.03 tonnes per hectare | +124.4% |
| 2022 | 0.8046 tonnes per hectare | -21.5% |
| 2023 | 0.8508 tonnes per hectare | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 0.6327 tonnes per hectare | -25.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 0.6327 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.04 tonnes per hectare, 31% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 0.6327 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.27 tonnes per hectare, 50% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn yields 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +170.6% | 0.5792 tonnes per hectare | 1.57 tonnes per hectare |
| 2021 | +124.4% | 0.4569 tonnes per hectare | 1.03 tonnes per hectare |
| 2017 | +122.4% | 0.468 tonnes per hectare | 1.04 tonnes per hectare |
| 2010 | +118.1% | 0.4159 tonnes per hectare | 0.9071 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.7656 tonnes per hectare | 0.6822 tonnes per hectare | 0.8148 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8471 tonnes per hectare | 0.5146 tonnes per hectare | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8073 tonnes per hectare | 0.6664 tonnes per hectare | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9276 tonnes per hectare | 0.5408 tonnes per hectare | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6252 tonnes per hectare | 0.4159 tonnes per hectare | 0.8913 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7541 tonnes per hectare | 0.468 tonnes per hectare | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.754 tonnes per hectare | 0.4569 tonnes per hectare | 1.03 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 166 Somalia 0.69 tonnes per hectare compare
- 167 Mauritania 0.6429 tonnes per hectare compare
- 168 Vanuatu 0.6362 tonnes per hectare compare
- 170 Botswana 0.6 tonnes per hectare compare
- 171 Cape Verde 0.0403 tonnes per hectare compare
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 corn yields in Lesotho?
- Corn yields in Lesotho was 0.6327 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest corn yields recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 1.57 tonnes per hectare in 1977.
- What is the lowest corn yields recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4159 tonnes per hectare in 2009.
- How does Lesotho rank for corn yields?
- Lesotho ranks 169th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn yields rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Corn yields. 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
Average corn yields measured in tonnes per hectare.