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Flag of Lesotho

Lesotho: capital, population, area and flag

Lesotho is a country in Southern Africa (Africa). Its capital is Maseru. The population is about 2.36M (#141 of 193) and the area is about 30,360 km² (#137 of 193).

Key facts

Capital
Maseru
Region
Africa / Southern Africa
Population
2,363,325 (2025) #141 of 193
Total area
30,360 km² (2024) #137 of 193
Population density
77.0 people/km² (2024) #110 of 193
GDP (total)
$2.57B (2025) #168 of 189
GDP per capita
$1,089 (2025) #174 of 189
Life expectancy
57.8 years (2024) #189 of 193
Distance from Japan
13,743 km #30 of 192
Area compared with Japan
about 1/12 that of Japan
Population compared with Japan
about 1/52 that of Japan
Main languages
Southern Sotho, English
Currency
Lesotho Loti (LSL)
Calling code
+266
Time zone (capital)
UTC+2
Time difference from Japan (standard time)
7 h behind Japan
Driving side
Left
Capital location
29.31°S 27.48°E

Population of Lesotho, 1950–2100 (Japanese)
See past estimates, future projections and the population pyramid in the World Population Time Machine.

Map of Lesotho

Map of Lesotho

Capital: Maseru

Neighbors by land

Top rankings

Lesotho is in the top 10 for:

Lesotho in world rankings

How Lesotho compares with other countries, indicator by indicator. Click an indicator to see the full ranking.

IndicatorValueYearRank
Geography & nature
Total area30,360 km²2024#137 of 193
Number of land borders1#138 of 193 tied
Latitude of the capital-29.3°#188 of 193
Distance from Japan13,743 km#30 of 192
Forest area (share of land)1.1%2024#179 of 193
Arable land (share of land)19.0%2024#57 of 190
Protected land (share of land)23.4%2025#56 of 192
Agricultural land (share of land)92.9%2024#2 of 192
Average annual rainfall788 mm2022#106 of 180 tied
Freshwater resources per person2,288 m³2022#98 of 181
Forest area345 km²2025#167 of 193
People & population
Population2,363,3252025#141 of 193
Population density77.0 people/km²2024#110 of 193
Population growth rate1.10%2025#92 of 193
Urban population (share of people)44.7%2025#140 of 193
Life expectancy57.8 years2024#189 of 193
Fertility rate2.66 births per woman2024#65 of 193
Infant mortality rate56.3 per 1,000 births2024#10 of 192 tied
Birth rate23.8 per 1,000 people2024#55 of 193
Share of people aged 65 and over3.9%2025#146 of 193
Share of children aged 0–1434.1%2025#53 of 193
Life expectancy of women60.4 years2024#190 of 193
Life expectancy of men55.0 years2024#190 of 193
Maternal mortality ratio478 per 100,000 births2023#11 of 192
Death rate (per 1,000 people)10.5 per 1,000 people2024#28 of 193
Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 births)60.0 per 1,000 births2024#21 of 192
Population aged 15–64 (share of population)62.0%2025#132 of 193
Economy
GDP (total)$2.57B2025#168 of 189
GDP per capita$1,0892025#174 of 189
GDP per capita (PPP)$3,1842025#170 of 185
Economic growth rate2.0%2025#133 of 188
Inflation rate4.3%2025#52 of 179
Unemployment rate16.3%2025#13 of 178
Exports (share of GDP)49.5%2025#47 of 168
Imports (share of GDP)104.5%2025#4 of 168
Agriculture (share of GDP)6.5%2025#93 of 184
Industry (share of GDP)25.2%2025#84 of 185
Services (share of GDP)55.6%2025#103 of 185
Military spending (share of GDP)1.6%2025#80 of 155
Income inequality (Gini index)44.9 (0–100)2017#16 of 149
Goods exports (total)$773M2025#155 of 190
Money sent home by workers abroad (share of GDP)20.8%2025#14 of 170
Women in the labor force (share of women)48.1%2025#118 of 178
Youth unemployment rate24.7%2025#29 of 178
Cereal production67,527 t2024#145 of 177
Cereal yield (per hectare of farmland)604 kg/ha2024#170 of 175
Fish and seafood production (catch + farmed)2,181 t2024#176 of 193
Fish catch (from sea, rivers and lakes)74 t2024#182 of 193
Aquaculture (farmed fish and seafood)2,107 t2024#118 of 193
Livestock production growth (2014–16 = 100)109.6 (2014–16 average = 100)2024#93 of 187
Fertilizer use (per hectare of arable land)6 kg/ha2024#164 of 187
Manufacturing (share of GDP)12.1%2024#77 of 178
Employment in agriculture (share of jobs)30.9%2025#57 of 178
High-technology exports (share of manufactured exports)0.1%2024#162 of 168
Foreign direct investment, inflows (share of GDP)1.3%2025#120 of 187
Development aid received (share of national income)6.6%2023#33 of 132
Labor force (number of people)889,5302025#145 of 178
Reserves of foreign currency and gold$1.01B2024#137 of 169
Daily life & technology
Internet users (share of people)51.8%2024#143 of 186
Mobile phone subscriptions70.3 per 100 people2024#163 of 193
Access to electricity (share of people)60.6%2024#165 of 193
Health spending (share of GDP)12.6%2023#8 of 192
Education spending (share of GDP)6.6%2024#17 of 179
Doctors0.24 per 1,000 people2022#155 of 188
Research spending (share of GDP)0.09%2023#111 of 130
Women in parliament (share of seats)25.0%2025#100 of 192 tied
University and college enrollment9.9%2018#148 of 163
Fixed broadband subscriptions0.4 per 100 people2024#166 of 192
Safe drinking water (share of people)31.3%2024#112 of 136
Safe sanitation (share of people)43.8%2024#88 of 136
Clean cooking fuels (share of people)58.0%2024#131 of 192
Road traffic deaths31.9 per 100,000 people2019#19 of 183
Measles vaccination (share of children)90.0%2024#92 of 192 tied
Secondary school enrollment (gross)59.4%2017#147 of 180
Primary school completion rate67.0%2023#152 of 172
Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people)1.76 per 1,000 people2022#138 of 190
Tuberculosis cases (per 100,000 people)548 per 100,000 people2024#4 of 191
Health spending per person$1232023#139 of 192
Environment
Renewable electricity (share of power)99.8%2021#2 of 187
CO₂ emissions per person0.4 t CO₂e per person2024#154 of 186
CO₂ emissions (total)1.0 Mt CO₂e2024#156 of 186
Air pollution (PM2.5)26.4 µg/m³2023#58 of 192
Renewable energy (share of final energy use)34.9%2022#69 of 191 tied
Electricity from nuclear power (share of total)0.0%2021#33 of 190 tied
Electricity from hydropower (share of total)99.6%2021#2 of 190
Greenhouse gas emissions (total)3.1 Mt CO₂e2024#155 of 186
Freshwater withdrawal (share of internal resources)0.8%2022#154 of 175
Food & farming
Wheat: production4,183 t2024#104 of 120
Maize (corn): production56,443 t2024#113 of 160
Barley: production298 t2024#97 of 100
Sorghum: production6,261 t2024#78 of 107
Oats: production342 t2024#69 of 74
Potatoes: production132,750 t2024#100 of 150
Dry beans: production1,531 t2024#92 of 105
Dry peas: production153 t2024#90 of 95
Beef (cattle meat): production1,042 t2024#159 of 181
Pork (pig meat): production752 t2024#141 of 164
Chicken meat: production569 t2024#167 of 183
Cow’s milk: production182,000 t2024#117 of 178
Hen eggs: production1,355 t2024#146 of 167
Sheep meat (mutton and lamb): production430 t2024#137 of 172
Goat meat: production199 t2024#127 of 164
Common carp: production26 t2024#76 of 97
African sharptooth catfish: production27 t2024#54 of 63
Rainbow trout: production2,100 t2024#31 of 79
Carps and other cyprinids: production26 t2024#98 of 115
Cattle: number of animals517,450 animals2024#122 of 183
Pigs: number of animals35,490 animals2024#128 of 165
Chickens: number of animals534,000 birds2024#163 of 181
Sheep: number of animals1,913,822 animals2024#69 of 173
Goats: number of animals700,831 animals2024#84 of 180
Horses: number of animals73,968 animals2024#58 of 143
Donkeys: number of animals141,951 animals2024#31 of 104

Questions about Lesotho

What is the capital of Lesotho?

The capital of Lesotho is Maseru.

What is the population of Lesotho?

Lesotho has a population of about 2.36M (2025), #141 of 193 among countries.

How big is Lesotho?

Lesotho covers about 30,360 km², #137 of 193 among countries.

Which continent is Lesotho in?

Lesotho is in Africa, in the region of Southern Africa.

What currency and languages are used in Lesotho?

The currency is the Lesotho Loti. Main languages: Southern Sotho, English.

How does Lesotho compare with Japan in size and population?

The area of Lesotho is about 1/12 that of Japan, and its population is about 1/52 that of Japan.

How far is Lesotho from Japan?

The capital, Maseru, is about 13,743 km from Tokyo, the capital of Japan, in a straight line.

What is the time difference between Lesotho and Japan?

The capital, Maseru, is on UTC+2 in standard time: 7 h behind Japan.

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