Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 11.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho is 11.8%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 31.4% on the previous year and up 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho peaked at 14.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2019.
Lesotho ranks 87th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 11.8% | — |
| 1962 | 11.6% | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 11.6% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 11.7% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 11.7% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 11.9% | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 11.9% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 12.0% | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 12.0% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 12.1% | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 11.9% | -2.2% |
| 1972 | 11.7% | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 11.7% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 11.7% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 12.3% | +4.8% |
| 1976 | 11.7% | -4.6% |
| 1977 | 9.5% | -18.9% |
| 1978 | 9.5% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 10.0% | +5.5% |
| 1980 | 9.6% | -4.3% |
| 1981 | 9.8% | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 9.5% | -3.4% |
| 1983 | 9.3% | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 9.8% | +4.9% |
| 1985 | 10.0% | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 9.5% | -5.6% |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +13.6% |
| 1988 | 11.2% | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 9.9% | -11.2% |
| 1990 | 10.4% | +5.3% |
| 1991 | 10.5% | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 10.9% | +4.1% |
| 1993 | 10.9% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 10.7% | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 10.5% | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 10.6% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 10.7% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 10.7% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10.9% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 10.9% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9.9% | -9.1% |
| 2003 | 9.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10.2% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 10.6% | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 10.0% | -6.2% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 11.8% | +10.2% |
| 2009 | 11.0% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 8.2% | -11.8% |
| 2014 | 9.0% | +9.8% |
| 2015 | 7.2% | -19.6% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | +60.7% |
| 2017 | 13.8% | +19.1% |
| 2018 | 14.3% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 5.0% | -65.4% |
| 2020 | 11.4% | +129.7% |
| 2021 | 7.4% | -34.7% |
| 2022 | 8.9% | +20.4% |
| 2023 | 11.8% | +31.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.8% | 11.6% | 12.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 11.2% | 9.5% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.9% | 9.3% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.7% | 10.4% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.6% | 9.9% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.9% | 5.0% | 14.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.9% | 7.4% | 11.8% | 4 |
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 share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Lesotho was 11.8% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 14.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Lesotho ranks 87th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area used for arable agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The share of land area used for arable agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow.