Rural population in Lesotho
Lesotho: Rural population was 1.31 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Lesotho stood at 1.31 million.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Lesotho peaked at 1.64 million in 1997 and was at its lowest, 709,556, in 1960.
That places Lesotho 119th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 795,086 | 709,556 | 897,906 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.06 million | 925,260 | 1.21 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.41 million | 1.25 million | 1.56 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.62 million | 1.58 million | 1.64 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.53 million | 1.46 million | 1.62 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.40 million | 1.36 million | 1.45 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.33 million | 1.31 million | 1.35 million | 6 |
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 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)
- Cereal production 143,080 metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Lesotho?
- Rural population in Lesotho was 1.31 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 1.64 million in 1997.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 709,556 in 1960.
- How does Lesotho rank for rural population?
- Lesotho ranks 119th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.