Fertility rate: births per woman in Lesotho
Lesotho: Fertility rate: births per woman was 2.69 live births per woman in 2023. ▼ Falling
Fertility rate: births per woman in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 2.69 live births per woman for fertility rate: births per woman in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate: births per woman in Lesotho peaked at 5.87 live births per woman in 1976 and was at its lowest, 2.69 live births per woman, in 2023.
That places Lesotho 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5.76 live births per woman | 5.7 live births per woman | 5.79 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.76 live births per woman | 5.7 live births per woman | 5.79 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.77 live births per woman | 5.69 live births per woman | 5.87 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.41 live births per woman | 4.96 live births per woman | 5.75 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.23 live births per woman | 3.67 live births per woman | 4.81 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.5 live births per woman | 3.31 live births per woman | 3.68 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.19 live births per woman | 2.92 live births per woman | 3.34 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.76 live births per woman | 2.69 live births per woman | 2.85 live births per woman | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 69 Saint Martin (French part) 2.72 live births per woman compare
- 70 Syria 2.71 live births per woman compare
- 71 East Timor 2.71 live births per woman compare
- 73 Turkmenistan 2.69 live births per woman compare
- 74 Mongolia 2.69 live births per woman compare
- 75 Haiti 2.66 live births per woman compare
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Number of child deaths per woman 0.1655 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 2.69 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 2.69 live births per woman (2023)
- Human Development Index 0.55 (2023)
- Rule of Law - Governance estimate -0.4066 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Rule of Law - Governance score 49.97 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance score 54.13 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate -0.1551 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance score 61.47 0-100 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance estimate -0.2589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate: births per woman in Lesotho?
- Fertility rate: births per woman in Lesotho was 2.69 live births per woman in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 5.87 live births per woman in 1976.
- What is the lowest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.69 live births per woman in 2023.
- How does Lesotho rank for fertility rate: births per woman?
- Lesotho ranks 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertility rate: births per woman rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate: births per woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.