Forest area in Lesotho
Lesotho: Forest area was 34,520 hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
34,520 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
175th
of 235 countries
All-time high
34,520 hectares
in 1990
All-time low
34,520 hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Lesotho, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 34,520 hectares for forest area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Lesotho peaked at 34,520 hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 34,520 hectares, in 1990.
Lesotho ranks 175th of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Forest area in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 34,520 hectares | — |
| 1991 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 34,520 hectares | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 34,520 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million hectares, 1% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 34,520 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 1% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 34,520 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 172 Cape Verde 51,060 hectares compare
- 173 Palau 41,870 hectares compare
- 174 Mauritius 38,290 hectares compare
- 176 Comoros 33,370 hectares compare
- 177 Saint Lucia 32,840 hectares compare
- 178 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 28,560 hectares 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 forest area in Lesotho?
- Forest area in Lesotho was 34,520 hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 34,520 hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 34,520 hectares in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for forest area?
- Lesotho ranks 175th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area 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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area. 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
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.