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LSO · Sub-Saharan Africa

Lesotho

2,363,325

Latest official population · 2025

Annual change+25.9K2024 to 2025
Growth since 2000+17.9%from 2M
Life expectancy57.8 years2024
Fertility rate2.66births per woman · 2024
Urban population44.7%2025
RegionSub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income

A country at every age

How Lesotho is shaped by age.

A younger population means schools, jobs, and future families will shape the decades ahead.

Latest shared source year: 2025
Ages 0–1434.1%Children and early teens
Ages 15–6462.0%Working-age population
Ages 65+3.9%Older population

The population pulse

How the population changes.

Births and deaths show natural change. Migration shows how movement across borders also changes the population.

Birth rate23.8births per 1,000 · 2024
Death rate10.5deaths per 1,000 · 2024
Natural balance+13.3births minus deaths per 1,000
Net migration-5.19Knet people estimate · 2025

UN medium projection

What could Lesotho look like in 2050?

If current demographic patterns evolve along the UN's medium scenario, the population could be 2.99M in 2050—28.1% larger than the 2024 UN estimate.

A projection is a scenario, not a prediction or live count.
  1. 20242.34M
  2. 20502.99M
  3. 21003.26M
Median age in 205028.8years
Births in 205051.78Kduring the year
Deaths in 205027.56Kduring the year
Life expectancy66.0years in 2050

Long view

Population through time

Official World Bank annual observations, shown at decade intervals with the latest published year.

  1. 1960736.5K
  2. 19701.02M
  3. 19801.41M
  4. 19901.81M
  5. 20002M
  6. 20102M
  7. 20202.24M
  8. 20252.36M
SourceWorld Bank Open DataPopulation total · SP.POP.TOTL
Latest population year2025Official annual observation
Future sourceUN WPP 2024Medium projection · 2024–2100
DeliveryReliable snapshotChecked 9/22/2026

Keep exploring

Put Lesotho into context.

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