Statizoid

Lesotho vs South Africa: Average annual exposure to PM2.5 air pollution

Lesotho
26.44 micrograms per cubic meter
in 2023
South Africa
27.72 micrograms per cubic meter
in 2023
Lesotho rank
58th
South Africa rank
55th

Average annual exposure to PM2.5 air pollution over time

  • Lesotho
  • South Africa
0102030199020062023

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 27.72 micrograms per cubic meter against 26.44 micrograms per cubic meter in Lesotho, a difference of 1.29 micrograms per cubic meter.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Lesotho ahead.

Lesotho ranks 58th and South Africa ranks 55th of 200 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Average annual exposure to PM2.5 air pollution
Unit
micrograms per cubic meter
Source
Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
200 places, 6,800 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The average level of exposure of the population to suspended particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory tract and damaging health. This is measured in micrograms per cubic meter.