Corn production in Lesotho
Lesotho: Corn production was 56,443 tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
56,443 tonnes
Change on year
down 55.6%
World rank
115th
of 176 countries
All-time high
188,489 tonnes
in 1996
All-time low
19,181 tonnes
in 2016
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn production in Lesotho, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 56,443 tonnes for corn production in 2024.
That represents a change of down 55.6% on the previous year and down 37.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn production in Lesotho peaked at 188,489 tonnes in 1996 and was at its lowest, 19,181 tonnes, in 2016.
That places Lesotho 115th out of 176 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Corn production in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 110,000 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 110,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 110,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 110,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 110,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 109,000 tonnes | -0.9% |
| 1967 | 110,000 tonnes | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 106,743 tonnes | -3.0% |
| 1969 | 101,893 tonnes | -4.5% |
| 1970 | 66,514 tonnes | -34.7% |
| 1971 | 74,000 tonnes | +11.3% |
| 1972 | 59,000 tonnes | -20.3% |
| 1973 | 70,000 tonnes | +18.6% |
| 1974 | 122,542 tonnes | +75.1% |
| 1975 | 70,292 tonnes | -42.6% |
| 1976 | 49,128 tonnes | -30.1% |
| 1977 | 125,932 tonnes | +156.3% |
| 1978 | 143,168 tonnes | +13.7% |
| 1979 | 124,856 tonnes | -12.8% |
| 1980 | 105,618 tonnes | -15.4% |
| 1981 | 105,674 tonnes | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 83,028 tonnes | -21.4% |
| 1983 | 76,200 tonnes | -8.2% |
| 1984 | 79,384 tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1985 | 92,350 tonnes | +16.3% |
| 1986 | 86,488 tonnes | -6.3% |
| 1987 | 94,912 tonnes | +9.7% |
| 1988 | 159,726 tonnes | +68.3% |
| 1989 | 137,227 tonnes | -14.1% |
| 1990 | 171,579 tonnes | +25.0% |
| 1991 | 48,918 tonnes | -71.5% |
| 1992 | 61,074 tonnes | +24.8% |
| 1993 | 91,805 tonnes | +50.3% |
| 1994 | 149,063 tonnes | +62.4% |
| 1995 | 62,531 tonnes | -58.1% |
| 1996 | 188,489 tonnes | +201.4% |
| 1997 | 142,050 tonnes | -24.6% |
| 1998 | 118,578 tonnes | -16.5% |
| 1999 | 124,549 tonnes | +5.0% |
| 2000 | 106,800 tonnes | -14.3% |
| 2001 | 158,190 tonnes | +48.1% |
| 2002 | 111,110 tonnes | -29.8% |
| 2003 | 82,080 tonnes | -26.1% |
| 2004 | 80,996 tonnes | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 78,739 tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 68,762 tonnes | -12.7% |
| 2007 | 60,312 tonnes | -12.3% |
| 2008 | 59,651 tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 57,126 tonnes | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 128,213 tonnes | +124.4% |
| 2011 | 73,390 tonnes | -42.8% |
| 2012 | 88,187 tonnes | +20.2% |
| 2013 | 86,325 tonnes | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 90,072 tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 65,636 tonnes | -27.1% |
| 2016 | 19,181 tonnes | -70.8% |
| 2017 | 172,666 tonnes | +800.2% |
| 2018 | 109,912 tonnes | -36.3% |
| 2019 | 24,621 tonnes | -77.6% |
| 2020 | 21,782 tonnes | -11.5% |
| 2021 | 88,553 tonnes | +306.5% |
| 2022 | 72,096 tonnes | -18.6% |
| 2023 | 126,994 tonnes | +76.1% |
| 2024 | 56,443 tonnes | -55.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 56,443 tonnes is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 805,250 tonnes, 7% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 56,443 tonnes is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 590,000 tonnes, 10% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn production in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +800.2% | 19,181 tonnes | 172,666 tonnes |
| 2021 | +306.5% | 21,782 tonnes | 88,553 tonnes |
| 1996 | +201.4% | 62,531 tonnes | 188,489 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 108,626 tonnes | 101,893 tonnes | 110,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 90,543 tonnes | 49,128 tonnes | 143,168 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 102,061 tonnes | 76,200 tonnes | 159,726 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 115,864 tonnes | 48,918 tonnes | 188,489 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 86,377 tonnes | 57,126 tonnes | 158,190 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 85,820 tonnes | 19,181 tonnes | 172,666 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 73,174 tonnes | 21,782 tonnes | 126,994 tonnes | 5 |
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 corn production in Lesotho?
- Corn production in Lesotho was 56,443 tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest corn production recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 188,489 tonnes in 1996.
- What is the lowest corn production recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 19,181 tonnes in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank for corn production?
- Lesotho ranks 115th out of 176 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn production rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Corn production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Corn (maize) production is measured in tonnes.