Labor force, female in Lesotho

Lesotho: Labor force, female was 389,878 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
389,878
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
147th
of 186 countries
All-time high
423,131
in 1999
All-time low
359,082
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Labor force, female in Lesotho, 1990–2025

0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k1990200720251990: 359.1k1991: 365.9k1992: 373.1k1993: 380.5k1994: 388.2k1995: 396.1k1996: 403.6k1997: 410.6k1998: 417.2k1999: 423.1k2000: 422.8k2001: 421.3k2002: 418.7k2003: 415.1k2004: 410.2k2005: 404.1k2006: 399.7k2007: 398.3k2008: 397.4k2009: 396.0k2010: 394.6k2011: 393.4k2012: 392.3k2013: 391.3k2014: 386.0k2015: 380.7k2016: 375.5k2017: 370.8k2018: 366.2k2019: 361.3k2020: 363.2k2021: 366.8k2022: 373.8k2023: 379.8k2024: 386.4k2025: 389.9k

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division.

Analysis

The most recent figure for labor force, female in Lesotho is 389,878, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 2.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, labor force, female in Lesotho peaked at 423,131 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 359,082, in 1990.

That places Lesotho 147th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 391,737 359,082 423,131 10
2000s 408,365 396,048 422,792 10
2010s 381,206 361,291 394,625 10
2020s 376,666 363,222 389,878 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 144 Mauritania 417,312 compare
  2. 145 Qatar 396,008 compare
  3. 146 Gambia 391,853 compare
  4. 148 Estonia 374,980 compare
  5. 149 Cyprus 350,968 compare
  6. 150 Gabon 337,527 compare

See the full ranking of 234 places →

More gender data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is labor force, female in Lesotho?
Labor force, female in Lesotho was 389,878 in 2025, according to World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division.
What is the highest labor force, female recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 423,131 in 1999.
What is the lowest labor force, female recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 359,082 in 1990.
How does Lesotho rank for labor force, female?
Lesotho ranks 147th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
Is labor force, female rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division, published as part of Labor force, female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Labor force, female
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
234 places, 8,410 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

Female labor force comprises women ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.