Share of land covered by forest in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of land covered by forest was 1.1% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
1.1%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
198th
of 216 countries
All-time high
1.1%
in 1990
All-time low
1.1%
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Share of land covered by forest in Lesotho, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of land covered by forest in Lesotho stood at 1.1%. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Lesotho peaked at 1.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1990.
Lesotho ranks 198th of 216 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of land covered by forest in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.1% | — |
| 1991 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.2%, 5% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 5% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 195 Kiribati 1.3% compare
- 196 Kazakhstan 1.3% compare
- 197 Saudi Arabia 1.3% compare
- 199 Yemen 1.0% compare
- 200 Mauritania 1.0% compare
- 201 Niger 0.8% 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 share of land covered by forest in Lesotho?
- Share of land covered by forest in Lesotho was 1.1% in 2025, according to Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land covered by forest recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 1.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Lesotho ranks 198th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by forest. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.