Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho
Lesotho: Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality was 0.225 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.225
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
7th
of 236 countries
All-time high
0.3763
in 1950
All-time low
0.2035
in 1988
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho is 0.225, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho peaked at 0.3763 in 1950 and was at its lowest, 0.2035, in 1988.
Lesotho ranks 7th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.3763 | — |
| 1951 | 0.3703 | -1.6% |
| 1952 | 0.363 | -2.0% |
| 1953 | 0.3558 | -2.0% |
| 1954 | 0.3482 | -2.1% |
| 1955 | 0.3413 | -2.0% |
| 1956 | 0.3344 | -2.0% |
| 1957 | 0.3286 | -1.7% |
| 1958 | 0.3239 | -1.4% |
| 1959 | 0.3204 | -1.1% |
| 1960 | 0.3176 | -0.9% |
| 1961 | 0.3164 | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 0.3159 | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 0.3163 | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 0.3157 | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 0.3154 | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 0.3137 | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 0.312 | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.309 | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 0.3056 | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 0.3017 | -1.3% |
| 1971 | 0.2973 | -1.5% |
| 1972 | 0.2927 | -1.5% |
| 1973 | 0.2875 | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 0.2829 | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 0.2766 | -2.2% |
| 1976 | 0.2697 | -2.5% |
| 1977 | 0.2624 | -2.7% |
| 1978 | 0.2549 | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 0.2472 | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 0.2397 | -3.0% |
| 1981 | 0.2325 | -3.0% |
| 1982 | 0.2259 | -2.8% |
| 1983 | 0.2198 | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 0.2145 | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 0.2103 | -1.9% |
| 1986 | 0.2069 | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 0.2049 | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 0.2035 | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 0.2037 | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 0.2049 | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 0.2066 | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 0.21 | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 0.2147 | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 0.2212 | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 0.23 | +3.9% |
| 1996 | 0.2395 | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 0.2509 | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 0.262 | +4.4% |
| 1999 | 0.2728 | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 0.2812 | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 0.2876 | +2.3% |
| 2002 | 0.2923 | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 0.2952 | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 0.2966 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 0.2966 | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.2975 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 0.2923 | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 0.2884 | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.284 | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 0.2795 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 0.2748 | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 0.2695 | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 0.2641 | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 0.2587 | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 0.2537 | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 0.2491 | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 0.2447 | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.2409 | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.2377 | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 0.2394 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 0.2318 | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 0.2282 | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 0.225 | -1.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 0.225 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1501, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 0.225 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1766, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3462 | 0.3204 | 0.3763 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3138 | 0.3056 | 0.3176 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2773 | 0.2472 | 0.3017 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2162 | 0.2035 | 0.2397 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2313 | 0.2049 | 0.2728 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2912 | 0.2812 | 0.2975 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2573 | 0.2377 | 0.2795 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2311 | 0.225 | 0.2394 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
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)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,227 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 382 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2020)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.8108 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0548 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.7473 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho?
- Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Lesotho was 0.225 in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy versus lifespan inequality recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3763 in 1950.
- What is the lowest life expectancy versus lifespan inequality recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2035 in 1988.
- How does Lesotho rank for life expectancy versus lifespan inequality?
- Lesotho ranks 7th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy versus lifespan inequality rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality. 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
Level of inequality in lifespans, measured between 0 and 1.