Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho
Lesotho: Age dependency ratio, young was 55.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in % of working-age population.
Analysis
In 2025, age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho stood at 55.0%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho peaked at 89.9% in 1962 and was at its lowest, 55.0%, in 2025.
That places Lesotho 56th 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 | 88.2% | 84.8% | 89.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 78.1% | 75.5% | 83.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 79.7% | 77.8% | 80.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.0% | 72.5% | 81.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.6% | 62.0% | 70.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.2% | 60.0% | 61.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.3% | 55.0% | 59.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 53 Kiribati 56.1% compare
- 54 Marshall Islands 55.4% compare
- 55 Tuvalu 55.1% compare
- 57 East Timor 53.7% compare
- 58 Eswatini 52.7% compare
- 59 Papua New Guinea 52.4% 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, young in Lesotho?
- Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho was 55.0% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 89.9% in 1962.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.0% in 2025.
- How does Lesotho rank for age dependency ratio, young?
- Lesotho ranks 56th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio, young rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. 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, young (% of working-age population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Age dependency ratio, young, is the ratio of younger dependents--people younger than 15--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.