Drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho

Lesotho: Drinking water services in rural areas was 82,624 people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
82,624 people
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
63rd
of 178 countries
All-time high
82,624 people
in 2024
All-time low
25,714 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho, 2000–2024

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k2000201220242000: 25.7k people2001: 27.9k people2002: 29.9k people2003: 31.9k people2004: 33.7k people2005: 35.4k people2006: 37.2k people2007: 39.3k people2008: 41.5k people2009: 43.7k people2010: 46.0k people2011: 48.3k people2012: 50.7k people2013: 53.2k people2014: 55.8k people2015: 58.4k people2016: 61.0k people2017: 63.7k people2018: 66.4k people2019: 69.1k people2020: 71.9k people2021: 74.6k people2022: 77.2k people2023: 79.9k people2024: 82.6k people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2024, drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho stood at 82,624 people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 48.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho peaked at 82,624 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 25,714 people, in 2000.

Lesotho ranks 63rd of 178 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 34,600 people 25,714 people 43,717 people 10
2010s 57,268 people 45,964 people 69,140 people 10
2020s 77,238 people 71,857 people 82,624 people 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 60 Chile 98,492 people compare
  2. 61 Turkey 96,895 people compare
  3. 62 Equatorial Guinea 95,622 people compare
  4. 64 Namibia 79,040 people compare
  5. 65 Mali 76,905 people compare
  6. 66 North Korea 68,600 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho?
Drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho was 82,624 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 in rural areas recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 82,624 people in 2024.
What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 25,714 people in 2000.
How does Lesotho rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
Lesotho ranks 63rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 48.1%. 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 services in rural areas. 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

Indicator
Drinking water services in rural areas
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 4,232 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.