Sorghum yields in Lesotho
Lesotho: Sorghum yields was 0.3959 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
0.3959 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 26.1%
World rank
111th
of 115 countries
All-time high
1.48 tonnes per hectare
in 1998
All-time low
0.1343 tonnes per hectare
in 2012
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sorghum yields in Lesotho, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 0.3959 tonnes per hectare for sorghum yields in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 26.1% on the previous year and down 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sorghum yields in Lesotho peaked at 1.48 tonnes per hectare in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.1343 tonnes per hectare, in 2012.
Lesotho ranks 111th of 115 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Sorghum yields in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8462 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.8462 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.8462 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.8462 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.9278 tonnes per hectare | +9.6% |
| 1966 | 0.8264 tonnes per hectare | -10.9% |
| 1967 | 0.8296 tonnes per hectare | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 0.7084 tonnes per hectare | -14.6% |
| 1969 | 0.6725 tonnes per hectare | -5.1% |
| 1970 | 0.6891 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 1971 | 0.7529 tonnes per hectare | +9.3% |
| 1972 | 0.3328 tonnes per hectare | -55.8% |
| 1973 | 0.6719 tonnes per hectare | +101.9% |
| 1974 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | +50.2% |
| 1975 | 0.6836 tonnes per hectare | -32.2% |
| 1976 | 0.5547 tonnes per hectare | -18.9% |
| 1977 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | +164.4% |
| 1978 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -1.3% |
| 1979 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | -7.0% |
| 1980 | 0.9666 tonnes per hectare | -28.1% |
| 1981 | 0.7953 tonnes per hectare | -17.7% |
| 1982 | 0.5445 tonnes per hectare | -31.5% |
| 1983 | 0.6594 tonnes per hectare | +21.1% |
| 1984 | 0.6175 tonnes per hectare | -6.4% |
| 1985 | 0.7256 tonnes per hectare | +17.5% |
| 1986 | 0.6443 tonnes per hectare | -11.2% |
| 1987 | 0.4405 tonnes per hectare | -31.6% |
| 1988 | 0.7 tonnes per hectare | +58.9% |
| 1989 | 0.7689 tonnes per hectare | +9.8% |
| 1990 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | +31.5% |
| 1991 | 0.5399 tonnes per hectare | -46.6% |
| 1992 | 0.6123 tonnes per hectare | +13.4% |
| 1993 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | +107.5% |
| 1994 | 0.8756 tonnes per hectare | -31.1% |
| 1995 | 0.8028 tonnes per hectare | -8.3% |
| 1996 | 0.8591 tonnes per hectare | +7.0% |
| 1997 | 0.8056 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 1998 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | +83.3% |
| 1999 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -24.9% |
| 2000 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | -6.4% |
| 2001 | 0.864 tonnes per hectare | -16.7% |
| 2002 | 0.4225 tonnes per hectare | -51.1% |
| 2003 | 0.4743 tonnes per hectare | +12.3% |
| 2004 | 0.3933 tonnes per hectare | -17.1% |
| 2005 | 0.624 tonnes per hectare | +58.7% |
| 2006 | 0.329 tonnes per hectare | -47.3% |
| 2007 | 0.2436 tonnes per hectare | -26.0% |
| 2008 | 0.2866 tonnes per hectare | +17.7% |
| 2009 | 0.5773 tonnes per hectare | +101.4% |
| 2010 | 0.7189 tonnes per hectare | +24.5% |
| 2011 | 0.5092 tonnes per hectare | -29.2% |
| 2012 | 0.1343 tonnes per hectare | -73.6% |
| 2013 | 0.3051 tonnes per hectare | +127.2% |
| 2014 | 0.5712 tonnes per hectare | +87.2% |
| 2015 | 0.5968 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.2576 tonnes per hectare | -56.8% |
| 2017 | 0.7633 tonnes per hectare | +196.3% |
| 2018 | 0.4722 tonnes per hectare | -38.1% |
| 2019 | 0.5834 tonnes per hectare | +23.5% |
| 2020 | 0.2996 tonnes per hectare | -48.6% |
| 2021 | 0.7955 tonnes per hectare | +165.5% |
| 2022 | 0.2602 tonnes per hectare | -67.3% |
| 2023 | 0.5357 tonnes per hectare | +105.9% |
| 2024 | 0.3959 tonnes per hectare | -26.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 0.3959 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.09 tonnes per hectare, 36% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 0.3959 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9424 tonnes per hectare, 42% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8166 tonnes per hectare | 0.6725 tonnes per hectare | 0.9278 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8953 tonnes per hectare | 0.3328 tonnes per hectare | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6863 tonnes per hectare | 0.4405 tonnes per hectare | 0.9666 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9362 tonnes per hectare | 0.5399 tonnes per hectare | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5252 tonnes per hectare | 0.2436 tonnes per hectare | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4912 tonnes per hectare | 0.1343 tonnes per hectare | 0.7633 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4574 tonnes per hectare | 0.2602 tonnes per hectare | 0.7955 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
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 sorghum yields in Lesotho?
- Sorghum yields in Lesotho was 0.3959 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sorghum yields recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 1.48 tonnes per hectare in 1998.
- What is the lowest sorghum yields recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1343 tonnes per hectare in 2012.
- How does Lesotho rank for sorghum yields?
- Lesotho ranks 111th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sorghum yields rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.7%. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sorghum yields. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.