Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho

Lesotho: Industry jobs as a share of total employment was 33.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
33.0%
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
9th
of 186 countries
All-time high
34.4%
in 2019
All-time low
13.8%
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho, 1991–2025

01020301991200820251991: 13.8 %1992: 14.3 %1993: 14.5 %1994: 15 %1995: 15.3 %1996: 15.9 %1997: 16.5 %1998: 17 %1999: 17.4 %2000: 18.4 %2001: 19.2 %2002: 19.7 %2003: 20.9 %2004: 21.6 %2005: 22.7 %2006: 23.9 %2007: 25 %2008: 26.3 %2009: 26.5 %2010: 27.8 %2011: 29 %2012: 30.4 %2013: 31 %2014: 31.8 %2015: 32.7 %2016: 33.5 %2017: 33.3 %2018: 33.5 %2019: 34.4 %2020: 33.3 %2021: 33 %2022: 33.1 %2023: 33 %2024: 33.1 %2025: 33 %

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho is 33.0%, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho peaked at 34.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 13.8%, in 1991.

That places Lesotho 9th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.5% 13.8% 17.4% 9
2000s 22.4% 18.4% 26.5% 10
2010s 31.7% 27.8% 34.4% 10
2020s 33.1% 33.0% 33.3% 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 6 Iran 34.7% compare
  2. 7 Slovakia 34.5% compare
  3. 8 Tunisia 33.3% compare
  4. 10 Romania 32.6% compare
  5. 11 Algeria 32.3% compare
  6. 12 Slovenia 32.0% compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho?
Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Lesotho was 33.0% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest industry jobs as a share of total employment recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 34.4% in 2019.
What is the lowest industry jobs as a share of total employment recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 13.8% in 1991.
How does Lesotho rank for industry jobs as a share of total employment?
Lesotho ranks 9th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
Is industry jobs as a share of total employment rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Industry jobs as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Industry jobs as a share of total employment
Unit
%
Source
ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
186 places, 6,496 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

Share of total employment working in the industry sector.