Lesotho vs South Africa: Share of young men and women living with HIV
Lesotho
3.1%
in 2024
South Africa
3.8%
in 2024
Lesotho rank
3rd
South Africa rank
2nd
Share of young men and women living with HIV over time
- Lesotho
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 3.8% against 3.1% in Lesotho, a difference of 0.7%.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Lesotho's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 35 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Lesotho ahead.
Lesotho ranks 3rd and South Africa ranks 2nd of 146 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.6% | 3.4% | 0.2% | Lesotho |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 5.2% | 0.5% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 4.2% | 0.2% | Lesotho |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 4.0% | 0.7% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of young men and women living with hiv, Lesotho or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 3.8% against 3.1% in Lesotho as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of young men and women living with hiv between Lesotho and South Africa?
- 0.7%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and South Africa?
- 35 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
- How do Lesotho and South Africa rank globally for share of young men and women living with hiv?
- Lesotho ranks 3rd and South Africa ranks 2nd of 146 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of young men and women living with HIV. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
In countries that are shown below the grey line the share of women with HIV infections is relatively higher.