Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho
Lesotho: Rural population without basic handwashing facilities was 1.33 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho is 1.33 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho peaked at 1.61 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.33 million people, in 2024.
Lesotho ranks 59th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.61 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.60 million people | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 1.58 million people | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.57 million people | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 1.54 million people | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 1.52 million people | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 1.50 million people | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 1.50 million people | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 1.50 million people | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.50 million people | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 1.50 million people | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 1.50 million people | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.51 million people | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.52 million people | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 1.53 million people | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 1.51 million people | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 1.49 million people | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 1.47 million people | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.46 million people | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 1.44 million people | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 1.42 million people | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 1.40 million people | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 1.37 million people | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 1.35 million people | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 1.33 million people | -1.7% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.33 million people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.83 million people, 35% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.33 million people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.33 million people, 16% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.54 million people | 1.50 million people | 1.61 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.49 million people | 1.44 million people | 1.53 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.37 million people | 1.33 million people | 1.42 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 56 Cambodia 1.80 million people compare
- 57 Mauritania 1.78 million people compare
- 58 Ukraine 1.38 million people compare
- 60 Congo 1.25 million people compare
- 61 Dominican Republic 1.14 million people compare
- 62 Guinea-Bissau 1.00 million people 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 rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho?
- Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho was 1.33 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 1.61 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.33 million people in 2024.
- How does Lesotho rank for rural population without basic handwashing facilities?
- Lesotho ranks 59th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rural population without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Rural population without basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People without access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.