Probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho
Lesotho: Probability that a man will outlive a woman was 42.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
42.3%
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
46th
of 236 countries
All-time high
46.1%
in 2006
All-time low
37.0%
in 1986
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 42.3% for probability that a man will outlive a woman in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho peaked at 46.1% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 37.0%, in 1986.
Lesotho ranks 46th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 43.2% | — |
| 1951 | 43.3% | +0.3% |
| 1952 | 43.2% | -0.2% |
| 1953 | 43.0% | -0.3% |
| 1954 | 42.9% | -0.4% |
| 1955 | 42.8% | -0.2% |
| 1956 | 42.5% | -0.5% |
| 1957 | 42.4% | -0.3% |
| 1958 | 42.3% | -0.3% |
| 1959 | 42.2% | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 42.0% | -0.4% |
| 1961 | 42.0% | -0.1% |
| 1962 | 41.9% | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 42.0% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 41.8% | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 41.7% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 41.2% | -1.2% |
| 1967 | 41.1% | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 40.9% | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 40.9% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 40.8% | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 40.6% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 40.6% | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 40.3% | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 40.5% | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 40.2% | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 39.6% | -1.3% |
| 1977 | 39.2% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 38.8% | -1.1% |
| 1979 | 38.4% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 38.1% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 38.1% | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 38.1% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 37.8% | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 37.7% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 37.4% | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 37.0% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 37.1% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 37.1% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 37.5% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 37.7% | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 38.0% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 38.2% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 38.6% | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 39.0% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 39.9% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 40.7% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 41.6% | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 42.2% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 43.4% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 44.1% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 44.2% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 44.7% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 44.9% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 44.4% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 44.4% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 46.1% | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 44.0% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 44.3% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 44.2% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 44.4% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 43.7% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 43.7% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 43.8% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 43.5% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 43.3% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 43.5% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 43.5% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 43.4% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 43.3% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 42.9% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 42.5% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 42.5% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 42.3% | -0.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 42.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41.9%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 42.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 42.6%, 99% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 42.8% | 42.2% | 43.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 41.6% | 40.9% | 42.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 39.9% | 38.4% | 40.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 37.6% | 37.0% | 38.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.9% | 37.7% | 43.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.5% | 44.0% | 46.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.6% | 43.3% | 44.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.6% | 42.3% | 42.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More gender data for Lesotho
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 786.22 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.5717 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 1,708 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 1,708 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 26,291 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 26,787 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 25,880 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 26,319 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 25,717 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho?
- Probability that a man will outlive a woman in Lesotho was 42.3% in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest probability that a man will outlive a woman recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 46.1% in 2006.
- What is the lowest probability that a man will outlive a woman recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.0% in 1986.
- How does Lesotho rank for probability that a man will outlive a woman?
- Lesotho ranks 46th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is probability that a man will outlive a woman rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Probability that a man will outlive a woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Probability that a male will live longer than a female if both are randomly selected from the population at birth.