Share of the population that is female in Lesotho

Lesotho: Share of the population that is female was 51.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
51.2%
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
50th
of 215 countries
All-time high
55.7%
in 1960
All-time low
50.8%
in 1985
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Share of the population that is female in Lesotho, 1960–2025

0204060196019922025

Source: United Nations Population Division and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of the population that is female in Lesotho is 51.2%, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the population that is female in Lesotho peaked at 55.7% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 50.8%, in 1985.

That places Lesotho 50th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 55.2% 54.0% 55.7% 10
1970s 51.9% 51.0% 53.5% 10
1980s 50.9% 50.8% 51.1% 10
1990s 51.3% 51.2% 51.4% 10
2000s 51.4% 51.4% 51.4% 10
2010s 51.4% 51.4% 51.4% 10
2020s 51.3% 51.2% 51.3% 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 47 North Macedonia 51.3% compare
  2. 48 Guyana 51.3% compare
  3. 49 Kazakhstan 51.3% compare
  4. 51 Japan 51.2% compare
  5. 52 Malawi 51.2% compare
  6. 53 Slovakia 51.2% compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More gender data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the population that is female in Lesotho?
Share of the population that is female in Lesotho was 51.2% in 2025, according to United Nations Population Division and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of the population that is female recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 55.7% in 1960.
What is the lowest share of the population that is female recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 50.8% in 1985.
How does Lesotho rank for share of the population that is female?
Lesotho ranks 50th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of the population that is female rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Population Division and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population that is female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population that is female
Unit
% of total
Source
United Nations Population Division and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 14,190 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed