Drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho
Lesotho: Drinking water services in rural areas was 82,624 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas 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
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.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 25,714 people | — |
| 2001 | 27,855 people | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 29,908 people | +7.4% |
| 2003 | 31,858 people | +6.5% |
| 2004 | 33,677 people | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 35,357 people | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 37,156 people | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 39,276 people | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 41,487 people | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 43,717 people | +5.4% |
| 2010 | 45,964 people | +5.1% |
| 2011 | 48,264 people | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 50,711 people | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 53,219 people | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 55,779 people | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 58,382 people | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 61,038 people | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 63,738 people | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 66,445 people | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 69,140 people | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 71,857 people | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 74,563 people | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 77,228 people | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 79,918 people | +3.5% |
| 2024 | 82,624 people | +3.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 82,624 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 37% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 82,624 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 16% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
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 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
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.