Arable land in Lesotho
Lesotho: Arable land was 0.1543 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in Lesotho stood at 0.1543 hectares per person.
That represents a change of up 30.0% on the previous year and up 27.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Lesotho peaked at 0.4718 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.0681 hectares per person, in 2019.
Lesotho ranks 79th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4182 hectares per person | 0.3712 hectares per person | 0.4718 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2897 hectares per person | 0.2177 hectares per person | 0.361 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1894 hectares per person | 0.1695 hectares per person | 0.2076 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1683 hectares per person | 0.1622 hectares per person | 0.1772 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1627 hectares per person | 0.1504 hectares per person | 0.182 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1435 hectares per person | 0.0681 hectares per person | 0.1991 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1318 hectares per person | 0.0997 hectares per person | 0.1545 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More agriculture & rural data for Lesotho
- Agricultural raw materials exports 5.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
- Rural population 55.3% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 1.31 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.5% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 166.92 million current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 177,933 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 804.1 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 143,080 metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Lesotho?
- Arable land in Lesotho was 0.1543 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4718 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0681 hectares per person in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for arable land?
- Lesotho ranks 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) 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. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.