Laos vs Lesotho: Share of population living in urban areas

Laos
30.6%
in 2020
Lesotho
37.7%
in 2020
Laos rank
222nd
Lesotho rank
220th

Share of population living in urban areas over time

  • Laos
  • Lesotho
10203040195019852020

How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 37.7% against 30.6% in Laos, a difference of 7.1%.

That makes Lesotho's figure about 1.2 times Laos's.

Across all 15 years both countries report, Lesotho has been ahead every year.

Laos ranks 222nd and Lesotho ranks 220th of 236 countries.

Lesotho has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Laos Lesotho Difference Ahead
1950s 12.0% 14.0% 2.0% Lesotho
1960s 14.4% 16.5% 2.0% Lesotho
1970s 17.3% 20.3% 3.1% Lesotho
1980s 19.5% 28.7% 9.2% Lesotho
1990s 22.3% 35.2% 12.9% Lesotho
2000s 25.4% 37.2% 11.8% Lesotho
2010s 27.8% 36.9% 9.1% Lesotho
2020s 30.6% 37.7% 7.1% Lesotho

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Laos or Lesotho?
Lesotho, at 37.7% against 30.6% in Laos as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Laos and Lesotho?
7.1%, with Lesotho ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and Lesotho?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Laos and Lesotho rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
Laos ranks 222nd and Lesotho ranks 220th 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 areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.