Political centralization index in Lesotho
Lesotho: Political centralization index was 0.167 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.167
Change on year
up 3.7%
World rank
123rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.567
in 1906
All-time low
0.148
in 2021
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Political centralization index in Lesotho, 1900–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political centralization index in Lesotho is 0.167, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and down 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political centralization index in Lesotho peaked at 0.567 in 1906 and was at its lowest, 0.148, in 2021.
Lesotho ranks 123rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Political centralization index in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.49 | — |
| 1901 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.565 | +15.3% |
| 1905 | 0.497 | -12.0% |
| 1906 | 0.567 | +14.1% |
| 1907 | 0.567 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.488 | -13.9% |
| 1909 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.488 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.483 | -1.0% |
| 1951 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.483 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.505 | +4.6% |
| 1961 | 0.505 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.464 | -8.1% |
| 1963 | 0.48 | +3.4% |
| 1964 | 0.48 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.376 | -21.7% |
| 1966 | 0.297 | -21.0% |
| 1967 | 0.316 | +6.4% |
| 1968 | 0.316 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.415 | +31.3% |
| 1970 | 0.509 | +22.7% |
| 1971 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.427 | -16.1% |
| 1974 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.427 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.438 | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 0.425 | -3.0% |
| 1984 | 0.425 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.425 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.517 | +21.6% |
| 1987 | 0.499 | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 0.499 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.499 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.509 | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 0.402 | -21.0% |
| 1992 | 0.36 | -10.4% |
| 1993 | 0.254 | -29.4% |
| 1994 | 0.281 | +10.6% |
| 1995 | 0.258 | -8.2% |
| 1996 | 0.245 | -5.0% |
| 1997 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.238 | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.248 | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.248 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.237 | -4.4% |
| 2011 | 0.231 | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.218 | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 0.186 | -14.7% |
| 2014 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.182 | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 0.204 | +12.1% |
| 2017 | 0.192 | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 0.247 | +28.6% |
| 2019 | 0.178 | -27.9% |
| 2020 | 0.166 | -6.7% |
| 2021 | 0.148 | -10.8% |
| 2022 | 0.163 | +10.1% |
| 2023 | 0.158 | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 0.161 | +1.9% |
| 2025 | 0.167 | +3.7% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 0.167 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5475, 31% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 0.167 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.683, 24% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.5132 | 0.488 | 0.567 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.488 | 0.488 | 0.488 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.488 | 0.488 | 0.488 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.488 | 0.488 | 0.488 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.488 | 0.488 | 0.488 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.483 | 0.483 | 0.483 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4154 | 0.297 | 0.505 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4516 | 0.427 | 0.509 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4581 | 0.425 | 0.517 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3044 | 0.245 | 0.509 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.246 | 0.238 | 0.248 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2061 | 0.178 | 0.247 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1605 | 0.148 | 0.167 | 6 |
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 political centralization index in Lesotho?
- Political centralization index in Lesotho was 0.167 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political centralization index recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 0.567 in 1906.
- What is the lowest political centralization index recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.148 in 2021.
- How does Lesotho rank for political centralization index?
- Lesotho ranks 123rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political centralization index rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Political centralization index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).