Lesotho vs Namibia: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Lesotho
37.7%
in 2020
Namibia
41.8%
in 2020
Lesotho rank
220th
Namibia rank
217th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Lesotho
- Namibia
How they compare
Namibia currently reports 41.8% against 37.7% in Lesotho, a difference of 4.1%.
That makes Namibia's figure about 1.1 times Lesotho's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Namibia ahead.
Lesotho ranks 220th and Namibia ranks 217th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 3 and Namibia in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | Namibia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 14.0% | 20.1% | 6.1% | Namibia |
| 1960s | 16.5% | 20.6% | 4.2% | Namibia |
| 1970s | 20.3% | 22.9% | 2.5% | Namibia |
| 1980s | 28.7% | 25.6% | 3.1% | Lesotho |
| 1990s | 35.2% | 28.1% | 7.1% | Lesotho |
| 2000s | 37.2% | 33.1% | 4.2% | Lesotho |
| 2010s | 36.9% | 38.9% | 2.0% | Namibia |
| 2020s | 37.7% | 41.8% | 4.0% | Namibia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Lesotho or Namibia?
- Namibia, at 41.8% against 37.7% in Lesotho as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Lesotho and Namibia?
- 4.1%, with Namibia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Namibia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Lesotho and Namibia rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Lesotho ranks 220th and Namibia ranks 217th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.