Rural population in Lesotho
Lesotho: Rural population was 1.31 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.31 million
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
119th
of 218 countries
All-time high
1.64 million
in 1997
All-time low
709,556
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
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 218 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.
Rural population in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 709,556 | — |
| 1961 | 726,633 | +2.4% |
| 1962 | 743,854 | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 761,298 | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 779,105 | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 797,575 | +2.4% |
| 1966 | 819,239 | +2.7% |
| 1967 | 844,612 | +3.1% |
| 1968 | 871,086 | +3.1% |
| 1969 | 897,906 | +3.1% |
| 1970 | 925,260 | +3.0% |
| 1971 | 953,307 | +3.0% |
| 1972 | 982,251 | +3.0% |
| 1973 | 1.01 million | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 1.04 million | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 1.08 million | +3.3% |
| 1976 | 1.11 million | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 1.15 million | +2.9% |
| 1978 | 1.18 million | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 1.21 million | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 1.25 million | +2.9% |
| 1981 | 1.29 million | +2.9% |
| 1982 | 1.32 million | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 1.36 million | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 1.40 million | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 1.44 million | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 1.48 million | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 1.51 million | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 1.53 million | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 1.56 million | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 1.58 million | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.59 million | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 1.61 million | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 1.62 million | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 1.62 million | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 1.63 million | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 1.64 million | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 1.64 million | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.63 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 1.63 million | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 1.62 million | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 1.60 million | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 1.59 million | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.57 million | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 1.54 million | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 1.51 million | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 1.49 million | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.48 million | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 1.47 million | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 1.46 million | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 1.45 million | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 1.44 million | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 1.43 million | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 1.41 million | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 1.40 million | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 1.39 million | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 1.37 million | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 1.37 million | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 1.36 million | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.36 million | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 1.35 million | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 1.34 million | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 1.33 million | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 1.32 million | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 1.32 million | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 1.31 million | -0.7% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.31 million is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 25% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.31 million is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 14% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
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 (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 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 218 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.