# Lesotho — national dossier Lesotho — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each with… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/LSO Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year) ## Overview - Official name: Kingdom of Lesotho - Capital: Maseru - Region: Southern Africa, Africa - Population: 2.0 m - Area: 30,355 km² - Languages: English, Sotho - Currency: Lesotho loti (LSL), South African rand (ZAR) A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Economy | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | GDP | $2.6 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP per capita | $1,089 | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP growth | 2.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Inflation | 4.3% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Trade openness | 154.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | ## Society | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Population | 2.4 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Life expectancy | 57.8 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Urban population | 44.7% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Fertility rate | 2.7 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Literacy rate | 90.4% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Governance | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 54.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Political stability | 61.5 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Government effectiveness | 38.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Regulatory quality | 47.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Rule of law | 50.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Control of corruption | 41.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | ## Health | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 12.6% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Physicians | 0.23 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Under-5 mortality | 60.0 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Measles immunisation | 90.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Safe drinking water | 31.3% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | ## Education | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 90.4% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Education spending | 6.6% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Primary enrolment | 80.2% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Secondary enrolment | 59.4% | 2017 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Tertiary enrolment | 9.9% | 2018 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | ## Technology | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.1% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Researchers (per million) | 32 | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Internet users | 51.8% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | Mobile subscriptions | 70 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | High-tech exports | 0.1% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Geography | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Land area | 30,360 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Forest area | 1.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Agricultural land | 77.8% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.4 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Renewable energy | 34.9% | 2022 | World Development Indicators | ## Resources | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 4.3% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Forest rents | 4.3% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Electricity access | 60.6% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Military | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.6% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Defense spending | $36 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Armed forces | 2,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:LSO::) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/LSO.claims.json History: "From Thaba Bosiu to the Mountain Kingdom" — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/LSO/chronicle.md (5 eras, 21 events). ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Citation template: Terralore, "Lesotho — national dossier", terralore.co/country/LSO, retrieved .