Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho

Lesotho: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 335,764 people in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
335,764 people
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
40th
of 78 countries
All-time high
658,578 people
in 2012
All-time low
28,439 people
in 2023
Years of data
21
1968–2025

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho, 1968–2025

0200.0k400.0k600.0k1968199620251968: 204.0k people1983: 238.6k people1984: 261.4k people1992: 75.1k people1993: 128.2k people1994: 128.2k people2002: 214.8k people2003: 285.2k people2007: 158.9k people2008: 316.1k people2011: 66.9k people2012: 658.6k people2016: 648.9k people2017: 60.1k people2019: 433.0k people2020: 109.7k people2021: 328.2k people2022: 328.2k people2023: 28.4k people2024: 334.8k people2025: 335.8k people

Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho is 335,764 people, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 48.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho peaked at 658,578 people in 2012 and was at its lowest, 28,439 people, in 2023.

That places Lesotho 40th out of 78 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 204,000 people 204,000 people 204,000 people 1
1980s 250,000 people 238,571 people 261,429 people 2
1990s 110,500 people 75,149 people 128,176 people 3
2000s 243,750 people 158,909 people 316,091 people 4
2010s 373,503 people 60,052 people 658,578 people 5
2020s 244,175 people 28,439 people 335,764 people 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 37 Haiti 499,765 people compare
  2. 38 Guatemala 444,079 people compare
  3. 39 Uruguay 410,410 people compare
  4. 41 Vietnam 266,000 people compare
  5. 42 Eswatini 232,000 people compare
  6. 43 Rwanda 207,134 people compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho?
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Lesotho was 335,764 people in 2025, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 658,578 people in 2012.
What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 28,439 people in 2023.
How does Lesotho rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
Lesotho ranks 40th out of 78 countries with data for 2025.
Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 48.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. 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

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.