People using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho

Lesotho: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 1.83 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.83 million people
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
146th
of 231 countries
All-time high
1.83 million people
in 2024
All-time low
1.29 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho, 2000–2024

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2000201220242000: 1.3M people2001: 1.3M people2002: 1.3M people2003: 1.3M people2004: 1.3M people2005: 1.3M people2006: 1.3M people2007: 1.3M people2008: 1.4M people2009: 1.4M people2010: 1.4M people2011: 1.4M people2012: 1.4M people2013: 1.5M people2014: 1.5M people2015: 1.5M people2016: 1.6M people2017: 1.6M people2018: 1.6M people2019: 1.7M people2020: 1.7M people2021: 1.7M people2022: 1.8M people2023: 1.8M people2024: 1.8M people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for people using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho is 1.83 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 21.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho peaked at 1.83 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.29 million people, in 2000.

Lesotho ranks 146th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.32 million people 1.29 million people 1.38 million people 10
2010s 1.52 million people 1.40 million people 1.66 million people 10
2020s 1.76 million people 1.69 million people 1.83 million people 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 143 Slovenia 2.11 million people compare
  2. 144 Central African Republic 1.95 million people compare
  3. 145 Latvia 1.85 million people compare
  4. 147 North Macedonia 1.79 million people compare
  5. 148 Eritrea 1.62 million people compare
  6. 149 Bahrain 1.61 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho?
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Lesotho was 1.83 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 1.83 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 1.29 million people in 2000.
How does Lesotho rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
Lesotho ranks 146th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People using at least a basic drinking water source. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People using at least a basic drinking water source
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using an improved drinking water source, which is either available on premises, or collection time is no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.