Drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho
Lesotho: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 3,071 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water usage in urban 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 usage in urban areas in Lesotho stood at 3,071 people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 71.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho peaked at 3,071 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 720.97 people, in 2000.
That places Lesotho 58th out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 720.97 people | — |
| 2001 | 779.33 people | +8.1% |
| 2002 | 838.73 people | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 898.73 people | +7.2% |
| 2004 | 958.69 people | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 1,018 people | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 1,085 people | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 1,158 people | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 1,237 people | +6.9% |
| 2009 | 1,321 people | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 1,409 people | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 1,502 people | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 1,593 people | +6.1% |
| 2013 | 1,689 people | +6.0% |
| 2014 | 1,790 people | +6.0% |
| 2015 | 1,896 people | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 2,007 people | +5.8% |
| 2017 | 2,123 people | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 2,243 people | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 2,368 people | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 2,499 people | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 2,634 people | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 2,773 people | +5.3% |
| 2023 | 2,919 people | +5.3% |
| 2024 | 3,071 people | +5.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 3,071 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6,494 people, 47% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 3,071 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10,146 people, 30% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,002 people | 720.97 people | 1,321 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,862 people | 1,409 people | 2,368 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,779 people | 2,499 people | 3,071 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 usage in urban areas in Lesotho?
- Drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho was 3,071 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 usage in urban areas recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 3,071 people in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 720.97 people in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
- Lesotho ranks 58th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 71.5%. 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 usage in urban 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.