Municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho
Lesotho: Municipal water withdrawal was 20.00 million cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
20.00 million cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
165th
of 183 countries
All-time high
20.00 million cubic meters
in 2000
All-time low
11.00 million cubic meters
in 1987
Years of data
37
1987–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho, 1987–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho is 20.00 million cubic meters, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho peaked at 20.00 million cubic meters in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.00 million cubic meters, in 1987.
That places Lesotho 165th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 11.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1988 | 11.69 million cubic meters | +6.3% |
| 1989 | 12.38 million cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 1990 | 13.08 million cubic meters | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 13.77 million cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 14.46 million cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 15.15 million cubic meters | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 15.85 million cubic meters | +4.6% |
| 1995 | 16.54 million cubic meters | +4.4% |
| 1996 | 17.23 million cubic meters | +4.2% |
| 1997 | 17.92 million cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 18.62 million cubic meters | +3.9% |
| 1999 | 19.31 million cubic meters | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 20.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 20.00 million cubic meters is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 245.90 million cubic meters, 8% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 20.00 million cubic meters is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 144.05 million cubic meters, 14% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.69 million cubic meters | 11.00 million cubic meters | 12.38 million cubic meters | 3 |
| 1990s | 16.19 million cubic meters | 13.08 million cubic meters | 19.31 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 20.00 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
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 municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Lesotho was 20.00 million cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 20.00 million cubic meters in 2000.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.00 million cubic meters in 1987.
- How does Lesotho rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Lesotho ranks 165th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.