Age dependency ratio in Lesotho
Lesotho: Age dependency ratio was 61.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in % of working-age population.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 61.2% for age dependency ratio in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio in Lesotho peaked at 98.6% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 61.2%, in 2025.
That places Lesotho 66th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 96.6% | 92.6% | 98.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 85.1% | 82.3% | 90.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 87.1% | 84.8% | 88.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.9% | 80.6% | 88.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.5% | 69.3% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.8% | 66.3% | 68.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 63.6% | 61.2% | 65.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 63 Finland 62.7% compare
- 64 East Timor 62.2% compare
- 65 Kazakhstan 61.7% compare
- 67 Kyrgyzstan 61.0% compare
- 68 Micronesia (country) 60.5% compare
- 69 Portugal 60.4% compare
More health data for Lesotho
- Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 27,640 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female 751,340 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total 805,943 (2025)
- Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 26,809 (2025)
- Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 27,201 (2025)
- Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 27,293 (2025)
- Age population, age 07, male, interpolated 27,660 (2025)
- Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 27,631 (2025)
- Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 27,969 (2025)
- Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 27,247 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency ratio in Lesotho?
- Age dependency ratio in Lesotho was 61.2% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 98.6% in 1961.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.2% in 2025.
- How does Lesotho rank for age dependency ratio?
- Lesotho ranks 66th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Age dependency ratio (% of working-age 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
Age dependency ratio is the ratio of dependents--people younger than 15 or older than 64--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.