Democracy in Lesotho
Lesotho: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Democracy in Lesotho, 2009–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 4 for democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 33.3% on the previous year and up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Lesotho peaked at 4 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 3, in 2009.
Lesotho ranks 16th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Democracy in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | — |
| 2011 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 2015 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2017 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +33.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 4 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2, 2.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 4 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2, 2.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2010s | 3.2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 2020s | 3.33 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 16 Albania 4 compare
- 16 Argentina 4 compare
- 16 Armenia 4 compare
- 16 Bhutan 4 compare
- 16 Bolivia 4 compare
- 16 Brazil 4 compare
- 16 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 16 Colombia 4 compare
- 16 Dominican Republic 4 compare
- 16 Ecuador 4 compare
- 16 Ghana 4 compare
- 16 Hungary 4 compare
- 16 India 4 compare
- 16 Liberia 4 compare
- 16 Malawi 4 compare
- 16 Malaysia 4 compare
- 16 Mauritius 4 compare
- 16 Moldova 4 compare
- 16 Mongolia 4 compare
- 16 Montenegro 4 compare
- 16 Namibia 4 compare
- 16 Nepal 4 compare
- 16 North Macedonia 4 compare
- 16 Panama 4 compare
- 16 Paraguay 4 compare
- 16 Romania 4 compare
- 16 Senegal 4 compare
- 16 South Africa 4 compare
- 16 Sri Lanka 4 compare
- 16 Ukraine 4 compare
- 16 Zambia 4 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 democracy in Lesotho?
- Democracy in Lesotho was 4 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 4 in 2013.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 2009.
- How does Lesotho rank for democracy?
- Lesotho ranks 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).