Share of young men and women living with HIV in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of young men and women living with HIV was 3.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of young men and women living with HIV in Lesotho, 1990–2024
Source: UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % ages 15-24.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of young men and women living with hiv in Lesotho is 3.1%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.1% on the previous year and down 31.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of young men and women living with hiv in Lesotho peaked at 5.4% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1990.
That places Lesotho 3rd out of 146 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Share of young men and women living with HIV in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.8% | — |
| 1991 | 1.3% | +62.5% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | +53.8% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | +40.0% |
| 1994 | 3.7% | +32.1% |
| 1995 | 4.4% | +18.9% |
| 1996 | 5.0% | +13.6% |
| 1997 | 5.3% | +6.0% |
| 1998 | 5.4% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 5.3% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 5.0% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 4.8% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 4.7% | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4.5% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 3.3% | -5.7% |
| 2023 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 3.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.3%, 10.3× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 3.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3%, 8.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of young men and women living with HIV in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +62.5% | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| 1992 | +53.8% | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| 1993 | +40.0% | 2.0% | 2.8% |
| 1994 | +32.1% | 2.8% | 3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.6% | 0.8% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 3.7% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 1 Eswatini 4.6% compare
- 2 South Africa 3.8% compare
- 4 Zimbabwe 2.6% compare
- 5 Botswana 2.5% compare
- 5 Mozambique 2.5% 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)
- 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 share of young men and women living with hiv in Lesotho?
- Share of young men and women living with hiv in Lesotho was 3.1% in 2024, according to UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of young men and women living with hiv recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 1998.
- What is the lowest share of young men and women living with hiv recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of young men and women living with hiv?
- Lesotho ranks 3rd out of 146 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of young men and women living with hiv rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of young men and women living with HIV. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
In countries that are shown below the grey line the share of women with HIV infections is relatively higher.