Number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho
Lesotho: Number of people who are severely food insecure was 600,000 people in 2023. ▬ Flat
Number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho, 2018–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho is 600,000 people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
That places Lesotho 62nd out of 118 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 600,000 people | — |
| 2019 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 600,000 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.90 million people, 32% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 600,000 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.70 million people, 22% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 600,000 people | 600,000 people | 600,000 people | 2 |
| 2020s | 600,000 people | 600,000 people | 600,000 people | 4 |
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 number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho?
- Number of people who are severely food insecure in Lesotho was 600,000 people in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people who are severely food insecure recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 600,000 people in 2018.
- What is the lowest number of people who are severely food insecure recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 600,000 people in 2018.
- How does Lesotho rank for number of people who are severely food insecure?
- Lesotho ranks 62nd out of 118 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are severely food insecure rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- 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 Number of people who are severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Severe food insecurity is defined by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). It is strongly related to insufficient quantity of food (energy).