Lesotho, year by year

Every index this site holds for Lesotho, in time order: 12 series across 1990–2025, each value as its source published it. The profile shows the latest snapshot; this is the record behind it.

HDI since 1990

Human development rose from 0.483 in 1990 to 0.550 in 2023.

UNDP Human Development Report, 2025 edition. 34 annual values, none interpolated.

Twenty years here

The world report

Life expectancy at birth: 57.8 years2024at birthUp 14.2 years from 43.6 years in 2005
Internet users: 52%2024of people onlineUp 49 points from 3% in 2006
Urban population: 45%2025of people in towns and citiesUp 21 points from 23% in 2006
Births per woman: 2.662024births per womanDown 0.77 from 3.43 in 2005
Renewable share of energy: 35%2022of energy usedDown 21 points from 55% in 2004
Access to electricity: 61%2024of people with electricityUp 51 points from 10% in 2005
Infant mortality: 562024deaths before age one, per 1,000 birthsDown 23 from 79 in 2005
CO2 emissions per person: 0.4 t2024of CO2 per person a yearUp 0.2 t from 0.2 t in 2005
Forest area: 1%2023of land under forestLevel with 2004

World Bank, from the first to the last observed year of each indicator; each has its own window.

All indexes, 1990–2025

36 years · 12 series · 3 values marked for checking

Year	HDI0–1	Life expectancy at birthyears	Internet users% of people	Urban population% of people	Births per womanbirths	Renewable share of energy% of energy	Access to electricity% of people	Infant mortalityper 1,000 births	CO2 emissions per persont/year	Forest area% of land	GDP per capitaUS$	GDP per capita, PPPintl $
1990	0.483	59.3	—	—	4.81	52.0	—	76	0.1	1.1	—	—
1991	0.482	59.1	—	13.6	4.68	52.0	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1992	0.481	58.6	—	14.3	4.54	51.4	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1993	0.477	58.1	—	15.0	4.37	51.0	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1994	0.478	57.3	—	15.8	4.21	50.8	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1995	0.476	56.4	—	16.5	4.13	50.8	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1996	0.473	55.1	0.0	17.1	4.06	50.8	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1997	0.469	53.7	0.0	17.7	3.98	50.6	—	75	0.1	1.1	—	—
1998	0.469	52.0	0.0	18.2	3.82	50.6	—	74	0.1	1.1	—	—
1999	0.462	50.4	0.1	18.8	3.67	56.9	—	74	0.1	1.1	—	—
2000	0.462	48.8	0.2	19.3	3.61	56.7	4	75	0.2	1.1	—	—
2001	0.457	47.1	0.3	19.9	3.63	56.5	1	76	0.2	1.1	—	—
2002	0.455	46.0	1.1	20.5	3.68	56.2	3	76	0.2	1.1	—	—
2003	0.456	44.9	1.5	21.1	3.62	55.9	5	77	0.2	1.1	—	—
2004	0.454	44.0	2.2	21.8	3.51	55.4	7	78	0.2	1.1	—	—
2005	0.454	43.6	2.6	22.5	3.43	55.3	10	79	0.2	1.1	—	—
2006	0.451	43.2	3.0	23.3	3.41	55.5	10	80	0.2	1.1	925	1813
2007	0.458	43.7	3.5	24.2	3.44	55.3	14	79	0.3	1.1	861	1932
2008	0.463	44.3	3.6	25.2	3.39	55.0	16	84	0.2	1.1	898	2064
2009	0.468	45.1	3.7	26.3	3.31	54.0	17	78	0.3	1.1	879	2036
2010	0.478	46.0	3.9	27.4	3.25	53.0	17	74	0.3	1.1	1119	2153
2011	0.485	46.9	7.0	28.6	3.34	42.3	23	71	0.3	1.1	1281	2279
2012	0.496	48.2	10.0	29.9	3.30	40.8	21	71	0.3	1.1	1218	2291
2013	0.502	49.5	15.0	31.2	3.28	46.1	27	71	0.3	1.1	1151	2538
2014	0.509	50.8	22.0	32.6	3.24	43.2	28	70	0.3	1.1	1174	2771
2015	0.517	51.8	25.0	34.1	3.22	46.0	32	69	0.3	1.1	1121	3035
2016	0.526	52.9	32.5	35.5	3.18	45.1	35	68	0.3	1.1	992	2942
2017	0.531	53.9	39.0	36.5	3.11	41.5	34	68	0.3	1.1	1069	2619
2018	0.538	54.6	40.8	37.6	3.02	42.5	47	65	0.3	1.1	1171	2632
2019	0.541	55.3	42.3	38.6	2.92	41.6	45	64	0.3	1.1	1082	2568
2020	0.537	55.1	43.7	39.6	2.85	43.2	48	62	0.3	1.1	919	2559
2021	0.532	54.2	45.1	40.7	2.77	33.6	50	61	0.3	1.1	1067	2545
2022	0.547	56.8	48.1	41.7	2.72	34.9	50	60	0.4	1.1	1030	2761
2023	0.550	57.4	49.0	42.7	2.69	—	57	58	0.4	1.1	921	2880
2024	—	57.8	51.8	43.7	2.66	—	61	56	0.4	—	1023	3071
2025	—	—	—	44.7	—	—	—	—	—	—	1089	3184
On the profile	0.550	57.8	51.8	44.7	2.66	34.9	—	—	0.4	1.1	1089	3184

Sources: HDI: UNDP HDR 2025; Life expectancy at birth: World Bank SP.DYN.LE00.IN; Internet users: World Bank IT.NET.USER.ZS; Urban population: World Bank SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS; Births per woman: World Bank SP.DYN.TFRT.IN; Renewable share of energy: World Bank EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS; Access to electricity: World Bank EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS; Infant mortality: World Bank SP.DYN.IMRT.IN; CO2 emissions per person: World Bank EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5; Forest area: World Bank AG.LND.FRST.ZS; GDP per capita: World Bank NY.GDP.PCAP.CD; GDP per capita, PPP: World Bank NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD. Profile snapshot from the site dataset regenerated 2026-10-04. Observed years only.

A dotted value moved sharply against the previous observed value in its series, which is the usual signature of a series break or a source revision; it is a prompt to check, not a judgement. The last row, On the profile, is the figure the country profile shows today, set under its series so the two can be checked against each other. ≠ marks a difference of more than 2%: none on this page.

← Lesotho profile Facts file (markdown)What changed in twenty years Methodology