What is emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho?

Emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho was 12,414 tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Lesotho?

The highest recorded value was 12,414 tonnes in 2022.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Lesotho?

The lowest recorded value was 8.61 tonnes in 1750.

How does Lesotho rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Lesotho ranks 173rd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Lesotho?

Over the last ten years it is up 44.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Lesotho data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Lesotho: Emissions of air pollutants was 12,414 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

12,414 tonnes

Change on year

up 8.1%

World rank

173rd

of 220 countries

All-time high

12,414 tonnes

in 2022

All-time low

8.61 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Lesotho recorded 12,414 tonnes for emissions of air pollutants in 2022. That is the highest value across all 273 years on record.

That represents a change of up 8.1% on the previous year and up 44.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho peaked at 12,414 tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 8.61 tonnes, in 1750.

Lesotho ranks 173rd of 220 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	9.04 tonnes	8.61 tonnes	9.47 tonnes	10
1760s	10.04 tonnes	9.57 tonnes	10.52 tonnes	10
1770s	11.16 tonnes	10.63 tonnes	11.69 tonnes	10
1780s	12.4 tonnes	11.81 tonnes	12.99 tonnes	10
1790s	13.77 tonnes	13.12 tonnes	14.43 tonnes	10
1800s	15.39 tonnes	14.57 tonnes	16.22 tonnes	10
1810s	17.98 tonnes	16.4 tonnes	19.58 tonnes	10
1820s	21.85 tonnes	19.93 tonnes	23.79 tonnes	10
1830s	26.55 tonnes	24.22 tonnes	28.9 tonnes	10
1840s	32.26 tonnes	29.43 tonnes	35.11 tonnes	10
1850s	38.59 tonnes	35.75 tonnes	41.5 tonnes	10
1860s	47.08 tonnes	42.17 tonnes	52.14 tonnes	10
1870s	59.82 tonnes	53.31 tonnes	66.53 tonnes	10
1880s	76.78 tonnes	68.08 tonnes	85.76 tonnes	10
1890s	99.63 tonnes	87.99 tonnes	111.13 tonnes	10
1900s	146.53 tonnes	113.7 tonnes	182.54 tonnes	10
1910s	247.48 tonnes	191.4 tonnes	306.94 tonnes	10
1920s	398.23 tonnes	321.23 tonnes	477.93 tonnes	10
1930s	586.32 tonnes	492.94 tonnes	691 tonnes	10
1940s	806.57 tonnes	715.9 tonnes	922.74 tonnes	10
1950s	1,058 tonnes	955.2 tonnes	1,166 tonnes	10
1960s	1,356 tonnes	1,189 tonnes	1,563 tonnes	10
1970s	1,847 tonnes	1,662 tonnes	2,049 tonnes	10
1980s	2,374 tonnes	2,144 tonnes	2,607 tonnes	10
1990s	2,909 tonnes	2,540 tonnes	3,403 tonnes	10
2000s	5,073 tonnes	4,133 tonnes	7,605 tonnes	10
2010s	9,364 tonnes	7,781 tonnes	11,119 tonnes	10
2020s	11,702 tonnes	11,205 tonnes	12,414 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Lesotho

170 Central African Republic 13,356 tonnes compare
171 Burundi 13,274 tonnes compare
172 Maldives 12,723 tonnes compare
174 Brunei 11,077 tonnes compare
175 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 11,017 tonnes compare
176 Eswatini 10,764 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Lesotho

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 3.06 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.31 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.7882 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2847 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.3356 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0003 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 1.6 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0002 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0038 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.1865 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho?: Emissions of air pollutants in Lesotho was 12,414 tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Lesotho?: The highest recorded value was 12,414 tonnes in 2022.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Lesotho?: The lowest recorded value was 8.61 tonnes in 1750.
How does Lesotho rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Lesotho ranks 173rd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Lesotho?: Over the last ten years it is up 44.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.