Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco was 28.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
In 2024, share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho stood at 28.0%. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho peaked at 28.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.4%, in 2000.
Lesotho ranks 39th of 167 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26.4% | — |
| 2005 | 26.4% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 26.5% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 26.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 27.1% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 27.6% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 27.7% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 27.9% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 28.0% | +0.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 28.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 16.2%, 1.7× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 28.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.9%, 2.8× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.4% | 26.4% | 26.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 26.9% | 26.6% | 27.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 27.8% | 27.6% | 28.0% | 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 share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho?
- Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco in Lesotho was 28.0% in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 28.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.4% in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco?
- Lesotho ranks 39th out of 167 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of adults who smoke or use other tobacco. 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
Estimated percentage of adults (15 years and older) who currently use tobacco. This includes all forms of tobacco use, such as smoking, chewing or snuffing, but excludes products that do not contain tobacco, such as e-cigarettes.