Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho
Lesotho: Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government was 94.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
94.4%
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
105th
of 174 countries
All-time high
96.2%
in 2022
All-time low
79.4%
in 2013
Years of data
60
1966–2025
Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho, 1966–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho is 94.4%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 18.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho peaked at 96.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 79.4%, in 2013.
That places Lesotho 105th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 79.6% | — |
| 1967 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 79.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 79.4% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 79.4% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 79.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 79.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 79.9% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 83.5% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 95.1% | +13.9% |
| 2020 | 86.6% | -8.9% |
| 2021 | 96.0% | +10.9% |
| 2022 | 96.2% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 93.2% | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 92.2% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 94.4% | +2.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 94.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 90.8%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 94.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 89.9%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 79.6% | 79.6% | 79.6% | 4 |
| 1970s | 79.6% | 79.6% | 79.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 79.6% | 79.6% | 79.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 79.6% | 79.6% | 79.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 79.6% | 79.6% | 79.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.5% | 79.4% | 95.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 93.1% | 86.6% | 96.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 102 Costa Rica 94.6% compare
- 103 Egypt 94.5% compare
- 104 North Macedonia 94.4% compare
- 106 Uganda 94.3% compare
- 107 Tunisia 94.1% compare
- 108 Tajikistan 94.0% compare
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 percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho?
- Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government in Lesotho was 94.4% in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest percentage of territory effectively controlled by government recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 96.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest percentage of territory effectively controlled by government recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.4% in 2013.
- How does Lesotho rank for percentage of territory effectively controlled by government?
- Lesotho ranks 105th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is percentage of territory effectively controlled by government rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the percentage of territory controlled by the government.