Rural population in Lesotho
Lesotho: Rural population was 55.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Lesotho is 55.3%, measured in 2025. 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 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Lesotho peaked at 96.3% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 55.3%, in 2025.
Lesotho ranks 55th of 215 countries on this measure, 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 | 93.8% | 91.3% | 96.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 89.3% | 88.8% | 90.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.6% | 87.7% | 88.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 84.0% | 81.2% | 87.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.6% | 73.7% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.8% | 61.4% | 72.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.8% | 55.3% | 60.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 52 Moldova 56.3% compare
- 53 Togo 55.6% compare
- 54 Central African Republic 55.4% compare
- 56 Democratic Republic of Congo 54.9% compare
- 57 Seychelles 54.5% compare
- 58 Zambia 54.1% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Lesotho
- Agricultural raw materials exports 5.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
- 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)
- Fertilizer consumption 8.7 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Lesotho?
- Rural population in Lesotho was 55.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 96.3% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.3% in 2025.
- How does Lesotho rank for rural population?
- Lesotho ranks 55th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.