Lesotho vs Zimbabwe: Share of population living in urban areas
Lesotho
37.7%
in 2020
Zimbabwe
33.6%
in 2020
Lesotho rank
220th
Zimbabwe rank
221st
Share of population living in urban areas over time
- Lesotho
- Zimbabwe
How they compare
Lesotho currently reports 37.7% against 33.6% in Zimbabwe, a difference of 4.1%.
That makes Lesotho's figure about 1.1 times Zimbabwe's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Zimbabwe ahead.
Lesotho ranks 220th and Zimbabwe ranks 221st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 2 and Zimbabwe in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | Zimbabwe | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 14.0% | 24.0% | 10.0% | Zimbabwe |
| 1960s | 16.5% | 27.7% | 11.2% | Zimbabwe |
| 1970s | 20.3% | 32.0% | 11.7% | Zimbabwe |
| 1980s | 28.7% | 34.2% | 5.5% | Zimbabwe |
| 1990s | 35.2% | 37.3% | 2.1% | Zimbabwe |
| 2000s | 37.2% | 37.5% | 0.3% | Zimbabwe |
| 2010s | 36.9% | 36.4% | 0.4% | Lesotho |
| 2020s | 37.7% | 33.6% | 4.1% | Lesotho |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Lesotho or Zimbabwe?
- Lesotho, at 37.7% against 33.6% in Zimbabwe as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Lesotho and Zimbabwe?
- 4.1%, with Lesotho ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Zimbabwe?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Lesotho and Zimbabwe rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
- Lesotho ranks 220th and Zimbabwe ranks 221st 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
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.