Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Lesotho
Lesotho: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total was 59.8 % in 2023. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Lesotho, 2017–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 59.8 % for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in 2023. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 25.4% over ten years.
That places Lesotho 16th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 47.7 % | — |
| 2018 | 48.6 % | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 50.3 % | +3.5% |
| 2020 | 52.8 % | +5.0% |
| 2021 | 55.4 % | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 58 % | +4.7% |
| 2023 | 59.8 % | +3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 48.87 % | 47.7 % | 50.3 % | 3 |
| 2020s | 56.5 % | 52.8 % | 59.8 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 13 Mauritania 63.2 % compare
- 14 Chad 62.6 % compare
- 15 Guinea-Bissau 60.3 % compare
- 17 Cabo Verde 29.2 % compare
- 17 Madagascar 59.5 % compare
- 18 Eswatini 57.6 % compare
- 19 Cameroon 57.3 % 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 total in Lesotho?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Lesotho was 59.8 % 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 total recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 59.8 % in 2023.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.7 % in 2017.
- How does Lesotho rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total?
- Lesotho ranks 16th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.4%. 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 total population (percent) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Lower 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.