Prevalence of HIV, female in Lesotho

Lesotho: Prevalence of HIV, female was 5.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
5.7%
Change on year
down 9.5%
World rank
4th
of 146 countries
All-time high
18.1%
in 1999
All-time low
2.5%
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Prevalence of HIV, female in Lesotho, 1990–2024

051015201990200720241990: 2.5 % ages 15-241991: 4 % ages 15-241992: 6.1 % ages 15-241993: 8.7 % ages 15-241994: 11.5 % ages 15-241995: 14.2 % ages 15-241996: 16.2 % ages 15-241997: 17.5 % ages 15-241998: 18 % ages 15-241999: 18.1 % ages 15-242000: 17.8 % ages 15-242001: 17.3 % ages 15-242002: 16.7 % ages 15-242003: 16.1 % ages 15-242004: 15.5 % ages 15-242005: 15.1 % ages 15-242006: 14.9 % ages 15-242007: 14.8 % ages 15-242008: 14.7 % ages 15-242009: 14.5 % ages 15-242010: 14.2 % ages 15-242011: 13.9 % ages 15-242012: 13.6 % ages 15-242013: 13.4 % ages 15-242014: 13.1 % ages 15-242015: 12.6 % ages 15-242016: 11.9 % ages 15-242017: 11 % ages 15-242018: 10.1 % ages 15-242019: 9.2 % ages 15-242020: 8.4 % ages 15-242021: 7.6 % ages 15-242022: 6.9 % ages 15-242023: 6.3 % ages 15-242024: 5.7 % ages 15-24

Source: UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Measured in % ages 15-24.

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of hiv, female in Lesotho is 5.7%, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 9.5% on the previous year and down 56.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of hiv, female in Lesotho peaked at 18.1% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 1990.

Lesotho ranks 4th of 146 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Prevalence of HIV, female in Lesotho, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of HIV, female (% ages 15-24) in Lesotho, 1990 to 2024.
Year % ages 15-24 Change
1990 2.5%
1991 4.0% +60.0%
1992 6.1% +52.5%
1993 8.7% +42.6%
1994 11.5% +32.2%
1995 14.2% +23.5%
1996 16.2% +14.1%
1997 17.5% +8.0%
1998 18.0% +2.9%
1999 18.1% +0.6%
2000 17.8% -1.7%
2001 17.3% -2.8%
2002 16.7% -3.5%
2003 16.1% -3.6%
2004 15.5% -3.7%
2005 15.1% -2.6%
2006 14.9% -1.3%
2007 14.8% -0.7%
2008 14.7% -0.7%
2009 14.5% -1.4%
2010 14.2% -2.1%
2011 13.9% -2.1%
2012 13.6% -2.2%
2013 13.4% -1.5%
2014 13.1% -2.2%
2015 12.6% -3.8%
2016 11.9% -5.6%
2017 11.0% -7.6%
2018 10.1% -8.2%
2019 9.2% -8.9%
2020 8.4% -8.7%
2021 7.6% -9.5%
2022 6.9% -9.2%
2023 6.3% -8.7%
2024 5.7% -9.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 11.7% 2.5% 18.1% 10
2000s 15.7% 14.5% 17.8% 10
2010s 12.3% 9.2% 14.2% 10
2020s 7.0% 5.7% 8.4% 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 1 South Africa 9.4% compare
  2. 2 Eswatini 7.3% compare
  3. 3 Mozambique 6.1% compare
  4. 5 Botswana 5.1% compare
  5. 6 Zimbabwe 3.7% compare
  6. 7 Zambia 3.6% compare

See the full ranking of 167 places →

More health data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of hiv, female in Lesotho?
Prevalence of hiv, female in Lesotho was 5.7% in 2024, according to UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
What is the highest prevalence of hiv, female recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 18.1% in 1999.
What is the lowest prevalence of hiv, female recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 1990.
How does Lesotho rank for prevalence of hiv, female?
Lesotho ranks 4th out of 146 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of hiv, female rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), published as part of Prevalence of HIV, female (% ages 15-24). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of HIV, female in Lesotho. Statizoid, drawing on UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-hiv-female-percent-ages-15-24/lesotho/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-hiv-female-percent-ages-15-24/lesotho/">Prevalence of HIV, female in Lesotho</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of HIV, female (% ages 15-24)
Unit
% ages 15-24
Source
UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
167 places, 5,813 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

Prevalence of HIV, female is the percentage of females who are infected with HIV. Youth rates are as a percentage of the relevant age group.