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Lesotho

Population

2,397,472

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
147th
Share of world
0.03%
Annual change
+26,0111.11%

Population of Lesotho

2M4M6M8M10M95% prediction intervalProjected peak20262.4M2050 projection3M↑ 25% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

Current population estimate: 2,397,472. 2050 projection: 2,993,076.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Lesotho. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
20262,389,3361.11%147
20252,363,3251.12%147
20202,235,7271.19%147
20192,209,4051.18%147
20182,183,6031.23%147
20172,157,1101.25%146
20152,104,6111.06%146
20101,996,2510.44%147
20051,953,0760.51%146
20002,003,9130.53%143

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Maseru is home to 517,905 people, 21.68% of Lesotho's population.

City population500K200K80K
Maseru 517.9KMaputsoe 97.5KMohale's Hoek 69.9KHlotse 69.2KButha-Buthe 63.9KMafeteng 58.2KTeyateyaneng 32.3KQacha's Nek 30.1KThaba-Tseka 26.4KMokhotlong 21.7K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Maseru517.9K21.68%
2Maputsoe97.5K4.08%
3Mohale's Hoek69.9K2.93%
4Hlotse69.2K2.90%
5Butha-Buthe63.9K2.68%
6Mafeteng58.2K2.43%
7Teyateyaneng32.3K1.35%
8Qacha's Nek30.1K1.26%
9Thaba-Tseka26.4K1.10%
10Mokhotlong21.7K0.91%

Lesotho by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
Lesotho is home to an estimated 2,397,472 people, the 147th largest population in the world.
Daily change
Lesotho has a net population change of approximately 72 people per day, driven by 151 births, 66 deaths, and net emigration of 13 people.
Share of world
Lesotho makes up 0.03% of the world's population and 0.15% of Africa's.
Density
78.7 people per km² of land (203.8 per mi²), ranking 139th among countries and territories.
Urban living
44.67% of people live in urban areas.

Lesotho Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 4100+ years, female: 2495–99 years, male: 6395–99 years, female: 21390–94 years, male: 39990–94 years, female: 1,10885–89 years, male: 1,28785–89 years, female: 3,34280–84 years, male: 2,58780–84 years, female: 6,06875–79 years, male: 4,97775–79 years, female: 10,78670–74 years, male: 9,01770–74 years, female: 16,26765–69 years, male: 14,58665–69 years, female: 22,49860–64 years, male: 19,02260–64 years, female: 26,57755–59 years, male: 24,19355–59 years, female: 28,85950–54 years, male: 32,16250–54 years, female: 35,10345–49 years, male: 49,59245–49 years, female: 54,70640–44 years, male: 73,46140–44 years, female: 79,78335–39 years, male: 94,21135–39 years, female: 99,26130–34 years, male: 96,32130–34 years, female: 99,66325–29 years, male: 100,56025–29 years, female: 102,34920–24 years, male: 113,25820–24 years, female: 113,41215–19 years, male: 125,31515–19 years, female: 124,73610–14 years, male: 137,63010–14 years, female: 136,4485–9 years, male: 135,6115–9 years, female: 133,6790–4 years, male: 131,2350–4 years, female: 128,976100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–450K50K100K100K

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

23.1 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

58.6 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

48.78%

Female

51.22%

Life expectancy 55.9Life expectancy 61.3

Ethnicity

99.7%

Sotho

  • Sotho99.7%
  • Other0.3%
Data notes

Source estimate: est.

Other: includes European, Asian, and Other

Religion

47.8%

Protestant, the largest religion

  • Protestant47.8%
  • Roman Catholic39.3%
  • Other Christian9.1%
  • None2.3%
  • non-Christian1.4%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2014 est.

Protestant: Pentecostal 27.7%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 2.8%

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Lesotho United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Bureau of Statistics