Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 49.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 49.0% for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in 2020.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho peaked at 51.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 47.6%, in 2016.
Lesotho ranks 47th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 51.5% | — |
| 2001 | 51.2% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 50.7% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 50.3% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 50.1% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 50.0% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 49.6% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 49.6% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 49.5% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 49.3% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 48.2% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 48.0% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 47.6% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 47.6% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 48.0% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 48.2% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 47.6% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 48.2% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 50.2% | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 49.2% | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 49.0% | -0.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 49.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 44.7%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 49.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 47.9%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 50.2% | 49.3% | 51.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.3% | 47.6% | 50.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.0% | 49.0% | 49.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
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 drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Lesotho was 49.0% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 51.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.6% in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Lesotho ranks 47th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.