Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho
Lesotho: Age dependency ratio, young was 55.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in % of working-age population.
Analysis
In 2025, age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho stood at 55.0%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho peaked at 89.9% in 1962 and was at its lowest, 55.0%, in 2025.
That places Lesotho 56th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of working-age population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 89.6% | — |
| 1961 | 89.8% | +0.2% |
| 1962 | 89.9% | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 89.4% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 88.3% | -1.2% |
| 1965 | 87.8% | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 88.1% | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 87.7% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 86.4% | -1.5% |
| 1969 | 84.8% | -1.8% |
| 1970 | 83.2% | -1.9% |
| 1971 | 81.5% | -2.0% |
| 1972 | 79.9% | -2.0% |
| 1973 | 78.4% | -1.9% |
| 1974 | 77.1% | -1.7% |
| 1975 | 76.1% | -1.3% |
| 1976 | 75.5% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 75.7% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 76.2% | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 77.0% | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 77.8% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 78.6% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 79.3% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 79.9% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 80.5% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 80.9% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 80.0% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 79.4% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 80.2% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 80.8% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 81.0% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 81.0% | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 80.7% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 80.1% | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 79.2% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 78.2% | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 77.1% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 75.8% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 74.2% | -2.1% |
| 1999 | 72.5% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 70.9% | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 69.4% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 68.0% | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 66.7% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 65.5% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 64.5% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 63.6% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 62.8% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 62.3% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 62.0% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 61.7% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 61.5% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 61.4% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 61.4% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 61.5% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 61.6% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 61.5% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 61.1% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 60.6% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 60.0% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 59.4% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 58.7% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 57.9% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 57.0% | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 56.0% | -1.8% |
| 2025 | 55.0% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 88.2% | 84.8% | 89.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 78.1% | 75.5% | 83.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 79.7% | 77.8% | 80.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.0% | 72.5% | 81.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.6% | 62.0% | 70.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.2% | 60.0% | 61.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.3% | 55.0% | 59.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 53 Kiribati 56.1% compare
- 54 Marshall Islands 55.4% compare
- 55 Tuvalu 55.1% compare
- 57 East Timor 53.7% compare
- 58 Eswatini 52.7% compare
- 59 Papua New Guinea 52.4% compare
More health data for Lesotho
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4669 % change on previous year (2090)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates 1,227 (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 382 (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate -0.1593 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1694 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate -0.0688 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1716 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho?
- Age dependency ratio, young in Lesotho was 55.0% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 89.9% in 1962.
- What is the lowest age dependency ratio, young recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.0% in 2025.
- How does Lesotho rank for age dependency ratio, young?
- Lesotho ranks 56th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age dependency ratio, young rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Age dependency ratio, young (% of working-age population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Age dependency ratio, young, is the ratio of younger dependents--people younger than 15--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population.