Drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho

Lesotho: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 3,071 people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
3,071 people
Change on year
up 5.2%
World rank
58th
of 188 countries
All-time high
3,071 people
in 2024
All-time low
720.97 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water usage in urban areas in Lesotho, 2000–2024

5001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k3.0k2000201220242000: 721 people2001: 779.3 people2002: 838.7 people2003: 898.7 people2004: 958.7 people2005: 1.0k people2006: 1.1k people2007: 1.2k people2008: 1.2k people2009: 1.3k people2010: 1.4k people2011: 1.5k people2012: 1.6k people2013: 1.7k people2014: 1.8k people2015: 1.9k people2016: 2.0k people2017: 2.1k people2018: 2.2k people2019: 2.4k people2020: 2.5k people2021: 2.6k people2022: 2.8k people2023: 2.9k people2024: 3.1k 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 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 55 Tunisia 4,511 people compare
  2. 56 Iran 4,069 people compare
  3. 57 Equatorial Guinea 3,410 people compare
  4. 59 Botswana 2,188 people compare
  5. 60 Eswatini 1,871 people compare
  6. 61 Cuba 1,381 people compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

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

Indicator
Drinking water usage in urban 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
188 places, 4,613 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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