APIDocsPricingGet a free API key
CountriesSouthern AfricaLesotho
Country record

Lesotho

Lesotho reports more, and more often, than most of the continent. Seven of ten datasets here reach 2025; three stop earlier, and this page shows where.

API
Where Lesotho ranks in 2024, of 53 · change since 2014
49thGDP$2.4bn3
32ndMobile70 per 10017
19thInternet use51.8%6
Last updated 1 Oct 2026 · World Bank · IMF · UNHCR
South AfricaMaseruTeyateyaneng
One land border, no coast. Hover a neighbour to compare.
CapitalMaseruLanguagesEnglish, SothoCurrencyLesotho loti · LSLArea30,355 km²

At a glance

2.4 million people, half of them under 22, in an economy of $3.0bn in 2026, growing 1.1% a year.

Lesotho’s economy is measured monthly and its households are measured by census. That split runs through everything below: exchange rates and market prices arrive within days, while access to water and power is estimated years after the fact.

One of the four figures beside this is modelled rather than reported. The page marks which is which everywhere, so a number you cite is a number you can defend.

How current the record is
721
Current to 2025To 2024Stop by 2023
Population2.4mpeople · Reported · 2025
Median age22.1years · Modelled · 2026
GDP per capita$1,241current US$ · Reported · 2026
Internet use51.8%of population · Reported · 2024
Coverage — ten datasets, ten years

Seven of ten datasets carry a 2025 figure. Markets and climate stop at 2024; policies stops at 1993. Hatching is the absence of a figure, not a low one.

’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Indicators
FX rates
Markets
Trade
Government
Policies
Prices
Power
Climate
Humanitarian
ReportedModelledNo figure
/v1/data?country_code=ls
Goods trade balanceExports and imports, US$ billions
01.5320142024ImportsExports
Imports have run at roughly 2.1 times exports over the decade; the band is the deficit.World BankSources →
Where exports goTop destinations, 2024
South Africa$0.59bnBelgium$0.24bnUnited States$0.15bn
South Africa takes more of Lesotho’s goods than Belgium and United States combined.Trade partners recordSources →
Where imports come fromTop origins, 2024
South Africa$1.48bnChina$0.19bnOther Asia, nes$0.05bn
South Africa alone supplies more than China and Other Asia, nes together.Trade partners recordSources →
GDP per capitaCurrent US$, not inflation-adjusted
$800$1.1k$1.4k20142024$1,023
Reported every year, including the 2023 dip in dollar terms.IMFSources →
InflationAnnual change in consumer prices
0%5%10%201420246.1%
6.1% in 2024; the decade’s peak was 8.3% in 2022.World Bank GEMSources →
Remittances receivedUS$ billions, current prices
0.30.60.820142024$0.48bn
1.2 times the 2014 figure.World BankSources →
Goods exports by value2024 · top categories
Pearls & gold$0.24bnBeverages$0.19bnApparel$0.17bn
Pearls & gold alone is 40% of the recorded top categories; services are excluded here.Trade products recordSources →
Public debtGross central government debt, share of GDP
30%55%80%2014202452.8%
Up 11 points since 2014.IMFSources →
Loti per US dollarAnnual average exchange rate
010202014202418.3
Lost 11% of its dollar value in 2023, then recovered in 2024.World Bank GEMSources →
Access to electricityShare of population with a connection
0501002014202460.6%
Up 33 points in a decade — the fastest-moving service in the record.World BankSources →
Under-five mortalityDeaths before age five, per 1,000 live births
50751002014202460.0
Falling steadily; modelled between census years.WHOSources →
Life expectancy at birthYears
4060802014202457.8 yrs
The 2021 dip is the pandemic, in vermilion.World BankSources →
Mobile subscriptionsPer 100 people · 100 marks parity
60901202014202470
More subscriptions than people since 2014.World BankSources →
Urban populationShare living in urban areas
30%40%50%2014202443.7%
Reported every year the record allows.World BankSources →
Who holds power13 heads of state across 19 terms since 1891, and every office beneath the current one as the record holds it
/v1/government/overview/ls
18912026
The executive as of
Oct 2026Where it stands

Letsie III of Lesotho has held the office of King of Lesotho since Jan 1996. The record holds twelve current ministers, and a Prime Minister of Lesotho.

ElectedAppointed
Letsie III of LesothoLetsie III of LesothoKing of Lesothoin office since Jan 1996
No second seatthe deputy for this date is not in the record
Sam MatekaneSam MatekanePrime Minister of Lesothoin office since Oct 2022
13 seats confirmed current · 13 recorded for 2025
12Ministersone per portfolio · as the record holds them for this date
Foreign MinisterAgriculture and Food SecurityDefence and National SecurityEducation and TrainingFinanceGender, Youth, Sports, Arts, Culture and Social DevelopmentHealthInformation, Communications, Science, Technology and InnovationLocal Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and PoliceNatural ResourcesPublic Works and TransportTrade, Industry, Business Development and Tourism
—Junior ministersjunior ministers for this date are not in the record
No ministers of state, delegates or deputy ministers are in the record for this date — hatching marks what we do not hold.
Outside the chain
—No subnational recordgovernors and provincial offices are not held

The record follows the national executive only. Governors, provincial administrators and other offices outside this chain are not held for Lesotho.

Read this first Coverage varies by country and institution. Recorded offices are not a complete government roster. Marked current is a source claim. Missing dates are shown as uncertain. Office groups are classifications. Connections are recorded Wikidata relationships, not verified reporting lines.

Wikidata · offices, terms and their dates as the record classifies them · structure as of 18 Oct 2026 · Portraits: Wikimedia Commons, licences per imageAll offices and people →Data and sources →
Lesotho
The whole table

Nine measures, with the year each one was taken

Reporting periods differ by source
IndicatorLatestYear2014ChangeCertaintySource
Access to electricity60.6%202427.8%+32.8 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Basic drinking water46.8%202450.1%−3.3 ptsReportedUNICEF
Basic sanitation4.1%20242.1%+2.1 ptsReportedUNICEF
Clean cooking fuel58.0%202440.0%+18.0 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Under-five mortality60.0202477.6−17.6 per 1,000ModelledWHO
Life expectancy at birth57.8 yrs202450.8 yrs+7.0 yrsReportedWorld Bank
Urban population44.7%202532.6%+12.0 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Internet use51.8%202422.0%+29.8 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Mobile subscriptions70 / 1002024103 / 100−32ReportedWorld Bank

Every indicator we hold for Lesotho

162 of 207 indicators carry a figure for Lesotho. Each opens its own page with the full history, the source and the API request.

Economy
Trade
Development
Demographics
Health
Child Welfare
Education
Food Security
Agriculture
Governance
Humanitarian
Technology
Infrastructure
Energy
Climate

How Lesotho ranks across Africa

Lesotho's position on 161 indicators, among the countries with a recent figure for each. A higher place means a higher value, not a better result. Each links to the full ranking.

Economy

Trade

Development

Demographics

Health

Child Welfare

Education

Food Security

Agriculture

Governance

Humanitarian

Technology

Infrastructure

Energy

Climate

Compare Lesotho with other African countries

The record for every other African country, by region, and side-by-side comparisons where we publish them.

Southern Africa

Sources, method & citation

Every figure on this page is traceable to a named publication and a retrieval date. Where we model a value we say so; where no one has reported, we leave it empty.

Upstream sources
World Bank2025
IMF2026
UNHCR2025
World Bank GEM2026
Sources & methods
Cite this page

Africa API (2026) — “Lesotho: country record”. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026.

Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Each upstream source keeps its own licence.
Next country
South AfricaBotswanaEswatiniNamibia
Switching country keeps the indicator, the year, and your scroll position.