Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho

Lesotho: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 17.7% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
17.7%
Change on year
up 11.0%
World rank
90th
of 113 countries
All-time high
17.7%
in 2024
All-time low
0.0%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho, 2000–2024

051015202000201220242000: 0 %2001: 0 %2002: 0 %2003: 0 %2004: 0 %2005: 0 %2006: 0 %2007: 0 %2008: 0 %2009: 0 %2010: 0 %2011: 0 %2012: 0 %2013: 0 %2014: 0.195 %2015: 1.9 %2016: 3.7 %2017: 5.5 %2018: 7.2 %2019: 9 %2020: 10.7 %2021: 12.5 %2022: 14.2 %2023: 16 %2024: 17.7 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Lesotho recorded 17.7% for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 11.0% on the previous year and up 8,995.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho peaked at 17.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2000.

Lesotho ranks 90th of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10
2010s 2.7% 0.0% 9.0% 10
2020s 14.2% 10.7% 17.7% 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 87 Niger 19.8% compare
  2. 88 Angola 19.1% compare
  3. 89 South Sudan 18.4% compare
  4. 91 Mauritania 17.0% compare
  5. 92 Sierra Leone 16.7% compare
  6. 93 Rwanda 16.0% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho?
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Lesotho was 17.7% 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 share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 17.7% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2000.
How does Lesotho rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
Lesotho ranks 90th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 8,995.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
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 Share of rural population with access to 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

Indicator
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
113 places, 1,715 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.