Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho
Lesotho: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult was 63.5 % in 2023. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho, 2017–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho is 63.5 %, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 24.0% over ten years.
That places Lesotho 19th out of 121 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 51.2 % | — |
| 2018 | 51.5 % | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 52.6 % | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 55.9 % | +6.3% |
| 2021 | 59.4 % | +6.3% |
| 2022 | 62.5 % | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 63.5 % | +1.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 63.5 % is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 48.05 %, 1.3× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 63.5 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 %, 99% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 51.77 % | 51.2 % | 52.6 % | 3 |
| 2020s | 60.33 % | 55.9 % | 63.5 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 16 Ethiopia 64.9 % compare
- 17 Cabo Verde 35 % compare
- 17 Guinea-Bissau 64.8 % compare
- 18 Cameroon 64.7 % compare
- 20 Madagascar 62.2 % compare
- 21 Togo 59.5 % compare
- 22 Namibia 58.2 % 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 prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult in Lesotho was 63.5 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 63.5 % in 2023.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.2 % in 2017.
- How does Lesotho rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult?
- Lesotho ranks 19th out of 121 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the female adult population (percent) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Upper bound. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.