Number of under-five deaths in Lesotho
Lesotho: Number of under-five deaths was 3,308 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
3,308
Change on year
down 2.4%
World rank
82nd
of 197 countries
All-time high
7,170
in 1976
All-time low
3,308
in 2024
Years of data
65
1960–2024
Number of under-five deaths in Lesotho, 1960–2024
Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 3,308 for number of under-five deaths in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 29.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of under-five deaths in Lesotho peaked at 7,170 in 1976 and was at its lowest, 3,308, in 2024.
That places Lesotho 82nd out of 197 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Number of under-five deaths in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5,812 | — |
| 1961 | 5,931 | +2.0% |
| 1962 | 6,084 | +2.6% |
| 1963 | 6,256 | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 6,430 | +2.8% |
| 1965 | 6,602 | +2.7% |
| 1966 | 6,750 | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 6,867 | +1.7% |
| 1968 | 6,942 | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 6,979 | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 6,995 | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 7,014 | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 7,044 | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 7,061 | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 7,102 | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 7,153 | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 7,170 | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 7,125 | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 7,025 | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 6,885 | -2.0% |
| 1980 | 6,712 | -2.5% |
| 1981 | 6,514 | -2.9% |
| 1982 | 6,317 | -3.0% |
| 1983 | 6,138 | -2.8% |
| 1984 | 5,972 | -2.7% |
| 1985 | 5,817 | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 5,692 | -2.1% |
| 1987 | 5,665 | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 5,612 | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 5,463 | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 5,343 | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 5,288 | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 5,299 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 5,355 | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 5,473 | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 5,668 | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 5,892 | +4.0% |
| 1997 | 6,082 | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 6,143 | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 6,144 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6,181 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 6,291 | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 6,441 | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 6,519 | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 6,486 | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 6,442 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 6,397 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 6,286 | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 6,368 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 5,662 | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 5,204 | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 4,989 | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 4,879 | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 4,795 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 4,710 | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 4,557 | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 4,343 | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 4,248 | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 4,109 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 3,991 | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 3,805 | -4.7% |
| 2021 | 3,607 | -5.2% |
| 2022 | 3,447 | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 3,390 | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 3,308 | -2.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 3,308 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9,859, 34% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 3,308 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 31,761, 10% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6,465 | 5,812 | 6,979 | 10 |
| 1970s | 7,057 | 6,885 | 7,170 | 10 |
| 1980s | 5,990 | 5,463 | 6,712 | 10 |
| 1990s | 5,669 | 5,288 | 6,144 | 10 |
| 2000s | 6,307 | 5,662 | 6,519 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,582 | 3,991 | 5,204 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,511 | 3,308 | 3,805 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 80 Gambia 3,451 compare
- 81 Eritrea 3,392 compare
- 83 Saudi Arabia 3,241 compare
- 84 United Kingdom 3,213 compare
- 85 Jordan 3,048 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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 382 (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)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0557 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of under-five deaths in Lesotho?
- Number of under-five deaths in Lesotho was 3,308 in 2024, according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest number of under-five deaths recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 7,170 in 1976.
- What is the lowest number of under-five deaths recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,308 in 2024.
- How does Lesotho rank for number of under-five deaths?
- Lesotho ranks 82nd out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of under-five deaths rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Number of under-five deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Number of children dying before reaching age five.