Birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho

Lesotho: Birth rate vs. death rate was 24.11 births per 1,000 people in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
24.11 births per 1,000 people
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
58th
of 236 countries
All-time high
45.12 births per 1,000 people
in 1956
All-time low
24.11 births per 1,000 people
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho, 1950–2023

01020304050195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births per 1,000 people.

Analysis

In 2023, birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho stood at 24.11 births per 1,000 people. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 19.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho peaked at 45.12 births per 1,000 people in 1956 and was at its lowest, 24.11 births per 1,000 people, in 2023.

That places Lesotho 58th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 44.6 births per 1,000 people 43.59 births per 1,000 people 45.12 births per 1,000 people 10
1960s 43.22 births per 1,000 people 41.27 births per 1,000 people 44.57 births per 1,000 people 10
1970s 40.61 births per 1,000 people 39.94 births per 1,000 people 41.1 births per 1,000 people 10
1980s 38.46 births per 1,000 people 36.27 births per 1,000 people 40.38 births per 1,000 people 10
1990s 31.43 births per 1,000 people 28.46 births per 1,000 people 35.13 births per 1,000 people 10
2000s 29 births per 1,000 people 28.25 births per 1,000 people 29.64 births per 1,000 people 10
2010s 28.9 births per 1,000 people 26.44 births per 1,000 people 30.21 births per 1,000 people 10
2020s 24.76 births per 1,000 people 24.11 births per 1,000 people 25.63 births per 1,000 people 4

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 56 Botswana 24.71 births per 1,000 people compare
  2. 57 Papua New Guinea 24.58 births per 1,000 people compare
  3. 59 Eswatini 24.07 births per 1,000 people compare
  4. 60 Tonga 23.12 births per 1,000 people compare
  5. 61 Tuvalu 23.07 births per 1,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho?
Birth rate vs. death rate in Lesotho was 24.11 births per 1,000 people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest birth rate vs. death rate recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 45.12 births per 1,000 people in 1956.
What is the lowest birth rate vs. death rate recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 24.11 births per 1,000 people in 2023.
How does Lesotho rank for birth rate vs. death rate?
Lesotho ranks 58th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is birth rate vs. death rate rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Birth rate vs. death rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Birth rate vs. death rate
Unit
births per 1,000 people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The number of live births in a year per 1,000 people in the population.