Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Lesotho
Lesotho: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 144.62 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Lesotho, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
In 2022, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Lesotho stood at 144.62 Square kilometres. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.4% on the previous year and up 513.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Lesotho peaked at 144.62 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 5.37 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Lesotho ranks 53rd of 57 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5.37 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 23.57 Square kilometres | +339.0% |
| 2015 | 55.62 Square kilometres | +136.0% |
| 2020 | 117.15 Square kilometres | +110.6% |
| 2022 | 144.62 Square kilometres | +23.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.37 Square kilometres | 5.37 Square kilometres | 5.37 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 39.59 Square kilometres | 23.57 Square kilometres | 55.62 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 130.88 Square kilometres | 117.15 Square kilometres | 144.62 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 50 Portugal 4,220 Square kilometres compare
- 51 Uganda 4,098 Square kilometres compare
- 52 Eswatini 170.28 Square kilometres compare
- 52 Guinea 4,084 Square kilometres compare
- 53 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3,953 Square kilometres compare
- 54 Mali 3,887 Square kilometres compare
- 55 Bulgaria 3,858 Square kilometres compare
- 56 Algeria 3,715 Square kilometres compare
More environment data for Lesotho
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 7.08 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.72 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -18.9 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -26.87 Percentage change (2024)
- Land use hidden — Other areas 6,407 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Permanent meadows and pastures 20,000 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Land area 30,360 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Cropland 3,607 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Total area 30,360 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Naturally regenerating forest 258.5 Square kilometres (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Lesotho?
- Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Lesotho was 144.62 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 144.62 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.37 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Lesotho rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
- Lesotho ranks 53rd out of 57 countries with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 513.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
About this data
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation