Demographics of Lesotho

Demographics of Lesotho
Demographics of Lesotho
	Population pyramid of Lesotho in 2020
Population	2,193,970 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	0.76% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	23.15 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	11.05 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	59.57 years
• male	57.57 years
• female	61.64 years
Fertility rate	2.92 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	48.44 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-4.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	31.3%
65 and over	5.6%
Sex ratio
Total	0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.01 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.48 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Basotho
Major ethnic	Sotho (99.7%)
Language
Official	Sesotho, English

Last updated May 24, 2024

Demographic features of the population of Lesotho include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

The Demographics of Lesotho describe the condition and overview of Lesotho's people, residents of which are called Basotho in the plural and Mosotho in the singular. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.

Population

According to the 2016 census, Lesotho has a total population of 2,007,201.^[1] Of the population, 34.17 percent lived in urban and 65.83 percent in rural areas.^[1] The country's capital, Maseru, accounts for around half of the total urban population. The sex distribution is 982,133 male and 1,025,068 female, or around 96 males for each 100 females.^[1]

The average population density in the country is around 66,1 people per square kilometer. The density is lower in the Lesotho Highlands than in the western lowlands. Although the majority of the population—56.1 percent—is between 15 and 64 years of age, Lesotho has a substantial youth population numbering around 37.8 percent.^[2] The annual population growth rate is estimated at 0.13%^[2]

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[3]^[4] the total population was 2,281,454 in 2021, compared to only 734 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 37.4%, 58.3% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.3% was 65 years or older .^[5]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	734 000	40.7	54.9	4.5
1955	788 000	41.9	53.7	4.4
1960	852 000	43.1	52.7	4.3
1965	934 000	43.6	52.2	4.2
1970	1 033 000	44.1	51.8	4.2
1975	1 150 000	44.5	51.3	4.2
1980	1 310 000	44.3	51.6	4.1
1985	1 487 000	44.3	51.6	4.1
1990	1 639 000	44.1	51.7	4.2
1995	1 795 000	43.1	52.5	4.4
2000	1 964 000	41.2	54.3	4.5
2005	2 066 000	39.6	56.0	4.4
2010	2 171 000	37.4	58.3	4.3

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 10.IV.2016):^[6]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	982 133	1 025 068	2 007 201	100
0–4	100 793	99 362	200 155	9.97
5–9	109 953	111 523	221 476	11.03
10–14	107 879	107 934	215 813	10.75
15–19	106 214	103 652	209 866	10.46
20–24	98 827	100 440	199 267	9.93
25–29	95 802	93 141	188 943	9.41
30–34	86 956	81 189	168 145	8.38
35–39	68 246	62 135	130 381	6.50
40–44	48 665	47 630	96 295	4.80
45–49	36 425	38 462	74 887	3.73
50–54	31 785	38 574	70 359	3.51
55–59	25 759	34 058	59 817	2.98
60–64	20 770	28 451	49 221	2.45
65-69	15 311	22 047	37 358	1.86
70-74	12 017	18 791	30 808	1.53
75-79	8 467	15 707	24 174	1.20
80-84	5 424	13 197	18 621	0.93
85-89	1 873	5 201	7 074	0.35
90-94	662	2 127	2 789	0.14
95+	305	1 447	1 752	0.09
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	318 625	318 819	637 444	31.76
15–64	619 449	627 732	1 247 181	62.14
65+	44 059	78 517	122 576	6.11

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021) (Data are projections based on the 2016 Population Census.): ^[7]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 019 453	1 057 858	2 077 311	100
0–4	100 104	98 343	198 446	9.55
5–9	111 585	114 805	226 390	10.90
10–14	106 278	106 664	212 942	10.25
15–19	100 311	96 522	196 832	9.48
20–24	95 959	96 699	192 658	9.27
25–29	102 411	98 595	201 006	9.68
30–34	101 352	92 981	194 333	9.36
35–39	80 459	69 851	150 310	7.24
40–44	53 415	49 648	103 063	4.96
45–49	37 537	38 314	75 852	3.65
50–54	33 352	40 804	74 155	3.57
55–59	27 071	37 915	64 986	3.13
60–64	22 945	32 509	55 454	2.67
65-69	16 336	23 852	40 187	1.93
70+	30 340	60 356	90 696	4.37
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	317 967	319 812	637 779	30.70
15–64	654 810	653 838	1 308 648	63.00
65+	46 676	84 208	130 884	6.30

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Lesotho not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[5]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950–1955	32 000	17 000	15 000	42.1	22.7	19.4	5.84	169
1955–1960	35 000	17 000	18 000	42.2	20.3	21.9	5.86	150
1960–1965	38 000	16 000	21 000	42.3	18.3	24.0	5.81	134
1965–1970	42 000	17 000	24 000	42.5	17.8	24.8	5.80	130
1970–1975	47 000	18 000	28 000	42.8	16.9	26.0	5.80	123
1975–1980	52 000	19 000	33 000	42.0	15.1	27.0	5.69	110
1980–1985	56 000	18 000	38 000	40.4	13.0	27.4	5.46	94
1985–1990	59 000	18 000	41 000	37.6	11.6	26.0	5.14	84
1990–1995	60 000	17 000	42 000	34.7	10.0	24.7	4.70	70
1995–2000	63 000	25 000	38 000	33.7	13.5	20.2	4.37	81
2000–2005	62 000	36 000	26 000	30.7	17.9	12.8	3.79	86
2005–2010	60 000	35 000	25 000	28.5	16.7	11.9	3.37	77
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[8]

Year	Total			Urban			Rural
Year	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR
2004	25.3	3.5	2.5	19.3	1.9	1.4	26.7	4.1	2.9
2009	26.4	3.3	2.4	24.5	2.1	1.7	27.1	4.0	2.8
2014	24.3	3.3	2.3	23.3	2.3	1.7	24.7	3.9	2.7

Fertility data as of 2014 (DHS Program):^[9]
District	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Butha-Buthe	3.7	4.7	3.9
Leribe	3.5	3.6	3.7
Berea	3.1	3.5	3.7
Maseru	2.6	4.4	3.5
Mafeteng	2.8	6.1	3.5
Mohale's Hoek	3.8	3.8	3.7
Quthing	3.9	3.3	4.1
Qacha's Nek	2.9	5.0	3.8
Mokhotlong	4.4	5.2	4.9
Thaba-Tseka	4.0	4.3	4.6

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 (UN World Population Prospects):^[10]

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	42.15
1955–1960	45.08
1960–1965	47.80
1965–1970	48.52
1970–1975	49.80
1975–1980	52.24
1980–1985	55.28
1985–1990	57.33
1990–1995	59.70
1995–2000	52.74
2000–2005	45.62
2005–2010	49.04
2010–2015	52.51

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.^[11]

One birth every 10 minutes
One death every 18 minutes
One net migrant every 63 minutes
Net gain of one person every 31 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook ^[12] unless otherwise indicated.

6,600 people living in Lesotho are from Asia or Europe. They represent 0.3% of the total population of Lesotho. The 5,000 Chinese people form the largest non-African ethnic group in Lesotho.^[13]

Population

2,193,970 (2022 est.)

1,962,461 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

Protestant 47.8% (Pentecostal 23.1%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 7.4%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, other Christian 9.1%, non-Christian 1.4%, none 2.3% (2014 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 31.3% (male 309,991/female 306,321)

15-24 years: 19.26% (male 181,874/female 197,452)

25-54 years: 38.86% (male 373,323/female 391,901)

55-64 years: 4.98% (male 52,441/female 45,726)

65 years and over: 5.6% (2020 est.) (male 57,030/female 53,275)

0-14 years: 31.84% (male 314,155 /female 310,772)

15-24 years: 19.34% (male 181,332 /female 1955,236)

25-54 years: 38.27% (male 366,652 /female 384,333)

55-64 years: 5.02% (male 52,490 /female 46,016)

65 years and over: 5.53% (male 55,804 /female 52,671) (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

0.76% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 121st

0.24% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 178th

Birth rate

23.15 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 50th

24.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 52nd

Death rate

11.05 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 22nd

15.1 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.88 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 55th

2.92 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 51st

2.59 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 72nd

Median age

total: 24.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 164th

male: 24.7 years

female: 24.7 years (2020 est.)

total: 24.4 years. Country comparison to the world: 164th

male: 24.4 years

female: 24.3 years (2018 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

20.9 years (2014 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate

64.9% (2018)

60.2% (2014)

Net migration rate

-4.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 199th

-6.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 203rd

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 66.9 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 59.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 7.4 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 13.5 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 29.9% of total population (2022)

rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population: 30.2% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 2.83% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 59.57 years. Country comparison to the world: 220th

male: 57.57 years

female: 61.64 years (2022 est.)

total population: 53 years (2018 est.)

male: 53 years (2018 est.)

female: 53.1 years (2018 est.)

Education expenditures

7.4% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 16th

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 79.4% (2015 est.)

male: 70.1% (2015 est.)

female: 88.3% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 12 years

male: 12 years

female: 13 years (2017)

total: 11 years (2015)

male: 10 years (2015)

female: 11 years (2015)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 34.4% (2013 est.)

male: NA (2013 est.)

female: NA (2013 est.)

Ethnic groups and languages

Ethnic groups in Lesotho^[14]
Ethnic groups
Sotho			99.7%
Europeans, Asians and Other			0.3%

Due to Lesotho's long history as a unified nation, that continued even through British colonial rule, the ethnic makeup of the country is very homogenous. Lesotho's ethno-linguistic structure consists almost entirely of the Basotho (singular Mosotho), a Bantu-speaking people: an estimate of 99.7 percent of the people identify as Basotho.^[2] The Kwena (Bakoena) are the largest subgroup of the Sotho; other Basotho subgroups include the Natal (North) Nguni, Batloung (the Tlou), Baphuthi (the Phuti), Bafokeng, Bataung (the Tau), Bats'oeneng (the tso'ene) and the Cape (South) Nguni (Thembu). Other ethnic groups include Europeans, numbering in the thousands, and several hundred Asians.^[15]

Sesotho (Southern Sotho) and English languages are both official.^[2] Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa and French are also spoken.

Religion

The population of Lesotho is estimated to be around 90 percent Christian.^[16] Roman Catholics, the largest religious group, make up around 45 percent of the population.^[16] Evangelicals comprise 26 percent of the population, and Anglican and other Christian groups an additional 19 percent.^[16] Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baháʼí, and members of traditional indigenous religions comprise the remaining 10 percent of the population.^[16]

Education and literacy

According to recent estimates, 85 percent of the population 15 and over was literate. Among women the literacy rate was around 95 percent, and among men around 75 percent.^[2] As such, Lesotho boasts one of the higher literacy rates in Africa. Although education is not compulsory, the Government of Lesotho is incrementally implementing a programme for free primary education. It was expected that the program would be fully in place by 2006. The National University of Lesotho located in Roma and the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology located in the heart of Maseru, Moshoeshoe 2 are the only universities in the country.^[17] In addition, the country has almost 20 other public and 15 private institutes giving tertiary education.^[17]

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References

1 2 3 "2016 census" (PDF). Lesotho Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
1 2 3 4 5 CIA. "CIA - The World Factbook - Lesotho" . Retrieved 2008-04-15.
↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
↑ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
1 2 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
↑ Demographic and Health Surveys
↑ http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR309/FR309.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
↑ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations" . Retrieved 2017-07-15.
↑ "Lesotho Population 2022", World Population Review
↑ This article incorporates public domain material from "Lesotho". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2022 edition.)
↑ "Lesotho - Country Profile - Kingdom of Lesotho - South Africa".
↑ "Africa :: LESOTHO". CIA The World Factbook. 19 April 2022.
↑ Commonwealth Secretariat (2004). The Commonwealth Yearbook. Commonwealth Secretariat. p. 181. ISBN 0-11-703227-1.
1 2 3 4 "International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Lesotho". United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor . 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
1 2 Matora Ntimo-Makara. "INHEA: Lesotho higher education profile". The Boston College Center for International Higher Education. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-04-15.

Attribution

This article incorporates public domain material from "Lesotho". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2022 edition.)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[census-1] 1 2 3 "2016 census" (PDF). Lesotho Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-08-28.

[factbook-2] 1 2 3 4 5 CIA. "CIA - The World Factbook - Lesotho" . Retrieved 2008-04-15.

[UN_WPP-3] "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[UN_WPP_2022-4] "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[WPP_2010-5] 1 2 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[6] "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".

[7] "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.

[8] Demographic and Health Surveys

[9] ttp://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR309/FR309.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}

[10] "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations" . Retrieved 2017-07-15.

[WPR_2022-11] "Lesotho Population 2022", World Population Review

[.cia.gov-12] This article incorporates public domain material from "Lesotho". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2022 edition.)

[13] "Lesotho - Country Profile - Kingdom of Lesotho - South Africa".

[CIATONGA-14] "Africa :: LESOTHO". CIA The World Factbook. 19 April 2022.

[commonwealth-15] Commonwealth Secretariat (2004). The Commonwealth Yearbook. Commonwealth Secretariat. p. 181. ISBN 0-11-703227-1.

[religion-16] 1 2 3 4 "International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Lesotho". United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor . 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2008-04-15.

[inhea-17] 1 2 Matora Ntimo-Makara. "INHEA: Lesotho higher education profile". The Boston College Center for International Higher Education. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-04-15.

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v t e Demographics of Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara

Demographics of Lesotho

Contents

Population

Vital statistics

Fertility and Births

Life expectancy at birth

Other demographic statistics

Population

Religions

Age structure

Population growth rate

Birth rate

Death rate

Total fertility rate

Median age

Mother's mean age at first birth

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Net migration rate

Major infectious diseases

Dependency ratios

Urbanization

Life expectancy at birth

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

Ethnic groups and languages

Religion

Education and literacy

Related Research Articles

References