Drinking water services in Lesotho
Lesotho: Drinking water services was 85,696 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services 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 people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for drinking water services in Lesotho is 85,696 people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and up 48.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Lesotho peaked at 85,696 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26,435 people, in 2000.
Lesotho ranks 67th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26,435 people | — |
| 2001 | 28,634 people | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 30,747 people | +7.4% |
| 2003 | 32,756 people | +6.5% |
| 2004 | 34,636 people | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 36,375 people | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 38,240 people | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 40,434 people | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 42,724 people | +5.7% |
| 2009 | 45,038 people | +5.4% |
| 2010 | 47,373 people | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 49,766 people | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 52,304 people | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 54,908 people | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 57,570 people | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 60,278 people | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 63,045 people | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 65,861 people | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 68,688 people | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 71,508 people | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 74,356 people | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 77,197 people | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 80,001 people | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 82,837 people | +3.5% |
| 2024 | 85,696 people | +3.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 85,696 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 261,824 people, 33% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 85,696 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 17% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 35,602 people | 26,435 people | 45,038 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 59,130 people | 47,373 people | 71,508 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 80,017 people | 74,356 people | 85,696 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 64 Kyrgyzstan 107,143 people compare
- 65 Equatorial Guinea 99,032 people compare
- 66 Namibia 87,594 people compare
- 68 Mali 76,905 people compare
- 69 Dominican Republic 75,980 people compare
- 70 North Korea 68,600 people compare
More environment data for Lesotho
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.284 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.783 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.521 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4197 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in Lesotho?
- Drinking water services in Lesotho was 85,696 people 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 services recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 85,696 people in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,435 people in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank for drinking water services?
- Lesotho ranks 67th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.9%. 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 services. 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
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.