Share of the population living with HIV in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of the population living with HIV was 17.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population living with HIV in Lesotho, 1990–2024
Source: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the population living with hiv in Lesotho stood at 17.1%.
The figure is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 30.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population living with hiv in Lesotho peaked at 24.9% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1990.
That places Lesotho 3rd out of 150 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 the population living with HIV in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.3% | — |
| 1991 | 3.8% | +60.7% |
| 1992 | 5.8% | +53.3% |
| 1993 | 8.3% | +43.6% |
| 1994 | 11.2% | +34.9% |
| 1995 | 14.1% | +26.0% |
| 1996 | 16.6% | +18.1% |
| 1997 | 18.6% | +12.3% |
| 1998 | 20.1% | +8.1% |
| 1999 | 21.2% | +5.5% |
| 2000 | 22.0% | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 22.5% | +2.3% |
| 2002 | 22.8% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 23.1% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 23.2% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 23.3% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 23.5% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 23.8% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 24.2% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 24.6% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 24.8% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 24.9% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 24.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 24.9% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 24.7% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 24.3% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 23.1% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 21.5% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 20.7% | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 19.8% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 18.9% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 18.0% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 17.1% | -5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.2% | 2.3% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.3% | 22.0% | 24.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.9% | 21.5% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.9% | 17.1% | 20.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 1 Eswatini 23.4% compare
- 2 South Africa 17.2% compare
- 4 Botswana 15.7% compare
- 5 Mozambique 11.5% compare
- 6 Zimbabwe 9.8% 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)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate -0.1593 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1694 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate -0.0688 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1716 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population living with hiv in Lesotho?
- Share of the population living with hiv in Lesotho was 17.1% in 2024, according to Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population living with hiv recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 24.9% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share of the population living with hiv recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of the population living with hiv?
- Lesotho ranks 3rd out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population living with hiv rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population living with HIV. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of people aged 15-49 who test positive for HIV at a given time. This is the central estimate.