Share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 7.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho is 7.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho peaked at 7.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 2000.
That places Lesotho 61st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.9% | — |
| 2001 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7.0% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7.1% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7.2% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7.3% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7.4% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 7.4% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7.5% | +1.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 7.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 7.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.9% | 6.9% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.1% | 7.0% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.4% | 7.3% | 7.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 58 Costa Rica 7.9% compare
- 59 United Kingdom 7.8% compare
- 60 Turkey 7.7% compare
- 61 Dominican Republic 7.5% compare
- 61 Equatorial Guinea 7.5% compare
- 64 Mexico 7.4% compare
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5388 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0101 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1115 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0549 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Lesotho was 7.5% in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Lesotho ranks 61st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children under five years old that are defined as overweight or obese. A child is classified as overweight if their weight-for-height is more than two standard deviations from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.