Drinking water service usage in Lesotho
Lesotho: Drinking water service usage was 31.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water service usage in Lesotho, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water service usage in Lesotho stood at 31.3%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 41.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Lesotho peaked at 31.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.7%, in 2000.
Lesotho ranks 139th of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.0% | 8.7% | 17.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.6% | 18.4% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.4% | 27.5% | 31.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More environment data for Lesotho
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 3.06 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.31 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.7882 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2847 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.3356 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0003 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 1.6 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0002 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0038 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.1865 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water service usage in Lesotho?
- Drinking water service usage in Lesotho was 31.3% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water service usage recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 31.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.7% in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank for drinking water service usage?
- Lesotho ranks 139th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water service usage. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people using an improved drinking water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.