Lesotho vs South Africa: Share of the population living with HIV
Lesotho
17.1%
in 2024
South Africa
17.2%
in 2024
Lesotho rank
3rd
South Africa rank
2nd
Share of the population living with HIV over time
- Lesotho
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 17.2% against 17.1% in Lesotho, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 35 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Lesotho ahead.
Lesotho ranks 3rd and South Africa ranks 2nd of 150 countries.
Lesotho has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.2% | 6.9% | 5.3% | Lesotho |
| 2000s | 23.3% | 15.8% | 7.5% | Lesotho |
| 2010s | 23.9% | 18.2% | 5.7% | Lesotho |
| 2020s | 18.9% | 17.8% | 1.1% | Lesotho |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population living with hiv, Lesotho or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 17.2% against 17.1% in Lesotho as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of the population living with hiv between Lesotho and South Africa?
- 0.1%, 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 the population living with hiv?
- Lesotho ranks 3rd and South Africa ranks 2nd of 150 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population living with HIV. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of people aged 15-49 who test positive for HIV at a given time. This is the central estimate.