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Photo: User:Kentstander derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 07 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Lesotho: Environment & Sustainability
How much pressure does a country put on the natural world?
Lesotho is placed 32nd of 181 countries on environment & sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: CO₂ Emissions per Capita 1.1 (2024); Water Stress 2.57 (2023).
Environment & Sustainability
32nd
of 181 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Lesotho on environment & sustainability — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
CO₂ Emissions per Capita
Global Carbon Project
Why it is a key: How much carbon dioxide a country's own fuel burning puts into the air for each person living there.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
1.1
Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)
Lower is better
Lesotho: 1.1. Across the 210 countries in this edition, values run from 0.054 (DR Congo) to 41.27 (Qatar); the world median is 3.21.
- World median
- 3.21
- Best in Southern Africa
- 0.841 Eswatini
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 6.872
Each grey tick is one of 210 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 2 of 3
Water Stress
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether a country withdraws more freshwater than nature replaces: the one pressure in this subject a country creates for itself rather than faces.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
2.57
Freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)
Lower is better
Lesotho: 2.57. Across the 177 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Republic of the Congo) to 3,851 (Kuwait); the world median is 10.
- World median
- 10
- Best in Southern Africa
- 0.31 Namibia
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 67.6
Each grey tick is one of 177 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Ecological Footprint
Global Footprint Network
Why it is a key: How much of the planet's biological capacity a country's own consumption uses up.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Ecological Footprint (global hectares per person)
Lower is better
Global Footprint Network publishes no 2025 figure for Lesotho, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 126 countries in this edition, values run from 0.514 (Yemen) to 11.73 (Qatar); the world median is 2.296.
- World median
- 2.296
- Best in Southern Africa
- 1.822 Eswatini
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 2.56
Each grey tick is one of 126 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Lesotho is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
CO₂ Emissions per Capita
Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person) · lower is better
LesothoWorld median
Lesotho rose from 0.923 in 2000 to 1.1 in 2024; the world median went from 2.662 to 3.21.
Every year’s figures
Year Lesotho World median 2024 1.10026 3.210 2023 1.07881 3.145 2022 1.11602 3.162 2021 1.36901 3.087 2020 0.88825 2.903 2019 0.99004 3.273 2018 0.99168 3.036 2017 1.05991 3.049 2016 0.95108 2.894 2015 0.97144 2.846 2014 1.07802 2.919 2013 1.03337 2.779 2012 1.37241 2.770 2011 1.36990 2.748 2010 1.13981 2.812 2009 1.11906 2.799 2008 1.07878 2.979 2007 1.06172 2.593 2006 1.04548 2.865 2005 1.02993 2.885 2004 1.00377 2.802 2003 0.97273 2.918 2002 0.95518 2.785 2001 0.93575 2.726 2000 0.92335 2.662 Water Stress
Freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%) · lower is better
LesothoWorld median
Lesotho was at 2.57 in both 2000 and 2023; the world median went from 10.07 to 10.
Every year’s figures
Year Lesotho World median 2023 3 10.000 2022 3 10.190 2021 3 10.460 2020 3 10.460 2019 3 10.890 2018 3 10.460 2017 3 10.460 2016 3 10.460 2015 3 10.190 2014 3 10.460 2013 3 10.460 2012 3 10.460 2011 3 10.460 2010 3 10.710 2009 3 10.960 2008 3 10.815 2007 3 11.180 2006 3 10.430 2005 3 10.250 2004 3 10.715 2003 3 10.370 2002 3 10.180 2001 3 10.130 2000 3 10.070
03In context
Lesotho beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 181 countries on environment & sustainability, never a place within the region.
1st181stNot placed · 43 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Lesotho and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 181 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | CO₂ Emissions per CapitaFossil CO₂ (tonnes per person) | Water StressFreshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%) | Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint (global hectares per person) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesotho | 32nd | 1.1 | 2.57 | — |
 South Africa | 158th | 6.872 | 67.6 | 2.56 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Southern Africa
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 181.
Placed either side on environment & sustainability
The countries immediately above and below Lesotho in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Lesotho is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under environment & sustainability, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median2
Statistics on which Lesotho does better than the middle country measured.
World Risk IndexInstitute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum · 2025 · world median 4.171.414.17▼ Worsened since 2015
Lesotho: 1.41 · world median 4.17 · WorldRiskIndex score (0–100, where 100 is the most at risk). Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr University Bochum, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.18 to 46.56; lower is better.
Position 167th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Energy Intensity of GDP (PPP)EIA · 2024 · world median 2.7382.3472.738▼ Worsened since 2014
Lesotho: 2.347 · world median 2.738 · Energy use per dollar of GDP (thousand Btu per US$ at PPP). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.666 to 17.45; lower is better.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Lesotho does worse than the middle country measured.
Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources per CapitaFAO · 2022 · world median 2,5282,2882,528▼ Worsened since 2012
Lesotho: 2,288 · world median 2,528 · Renewable internal freshwater (cubic metres per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 445,023; higher is better.
Position 98th of 181 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 0.450.5070.45No real change since 2014
Lesotho: 0.507 · world median 0.45 · ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.263 to 0.655; lower is better.
Ranked 142nd of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
ND-GAIN Country IndexNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2024 · world median 47.4438.3847.44▼ Worsened since 2014
Lesotho: 38.38 · world median 47.44 · ND-GAIN Index (0–100, where 100 is best placed to adapt). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.42 to 71.85; higher is better.
Ranked 151st of 190 by Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame.
No better end11
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.9677.7637.96No real change since 2013
Lesotho: 77.76 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 8th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.733.441.73Moved since 2014
Lesotho: 3.44 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 66th of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 1.7084.3181.708Moved since 2011
Lesotho: 4.318 · world median 1.708 · Natural resources rents (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.03.
Position 74th of 180 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.1540.109Moved since 2013
Lesotho: 0.154 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 79th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,278177,933689,278Moved since 2013
Lesotho: 177,933 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.
Position 124th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,6351,2268,635No real change since 2013
Lesotho: 1,226 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.
Position 144th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.148.67662.14No real change since 2012
Lesotho: 8.676 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.
Position 144th of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5350.210.535Moved since 2013
Lesotho: 0.21 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 155th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.368.69887.36Moved since 2013
Lesotho: 8.698 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 159th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Forest AreaFAO · 2023 · world median 31.081.13731.08No real change since 2013
Lesotho: 1.137 · world median 31.08 · Forest area (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 94.45.
Position 193rd of 210 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural Irrigated LandFAO · 2023 · world median 3.660.0533.66No earlier reading
Lesotho: 0.053 · world median 3.66 · Irrigated share of agricultural land (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 89.04.
Position 117th of 121 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Lesotho
Adjusted Net Savings (last 2020), Carbon Intensity of Electricity (last 2022), Ecological Footprint, Internal Displacements by Disaster (last 2023), Low-Carbon Share of Electricity Generation (last 2022), Organic Agricultural Area (last 2018), Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Renewable Share of Electricity Generation (last 2022), Wind and Solar Share of Electricity Generation (last 2022) and World Energy Trilemma Index. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Environment & Sustainability among Lesotho’s 14 topics
Environment & Sustainability is Lesotho’s best-placed topic of 14. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Environment & Sustainability32nd of 1812/3 keys
- Peace & Security57th of 1774/4 keys
- Gender & Equalityjoint 79th of 1834/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties92nd of 1983/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience93rd of 1923/3 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 115th of 1944/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge114th of 1714/4 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 132nd of 1763/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 140th of 1824/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture136th of 1752/4 keys
- Digital & Technology159th of 1983/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital178th of 1963/3 keys
- Poverty & Inequality152nd of 1592/2 keys
- Health & Wellbeing194th of 2004/4 keys
No standing on Mobility & Trade, Energy: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on environment & sustainability
The three countries placed highest of 181, and the leaders Lesotho can most readily be measured against.
1
DR CongoMiddle Africa
1st of 181 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
MozambiqueEastern Africa
2nd of 181 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Stig Nygaard derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
3
Guinea-BissauWestern Africa
3rd of 181 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: (WT-en) Pis bus at English Wikivoyage · Public domain, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Africa
DR Congo1st3/3 keysHighest in Southern Africa
Namibia14th2/3 keysThis page
Lesotho32nd2/3 keys
Positions out of 181 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Lesotho on environment & sustainability: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Lesotho rank on environment & sustainability?
Lesotho is placed 32nd of 181 countries on Environment & Sustainability in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics (CO₂ Emissions per Capita and Water Stress). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest CO₂ Emissions per Capita figure for Lesotho?
1.1 in 2024 (fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person)), according to Global Carbon Project. The world median in the same edition was 3.21.
What is the latest Water Stress figure for Lesotho?
2.57 in 2023 (freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources (%)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 10.
How does Lesotho compare with South Africa on environment & sustainability?
South Africa is placed 158th of 181, and Lesotho 32nd. CO₂ Emissions per Capita: South Africa 6.872, Lesotho 1.1; Water Stress: South Africa 67.6, Lesotho 2.57.
How have Lesotho’s environment & sustainability figures changed?
CO₂ Emissions per Capita rose from 0.923 in 2000 to 1.1 in 2024; Water Stress was 2.57 in both 2000 and 2023.
Which environment & sustainability statistics are missing for Lesotho?
No current reading is published for Lesotho on Adjusted Net Savings, Carbon Intensity of Electricity, Ecological Footprint, Internal Displacements by Disaster, Low-Carbon Share of Electricity Generation, Organic Agricultural Area, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Renewable Share of Electricity Generation, Wind and Solar Share of Electricity Generation and World Energy Trilemma Index. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Lesotho, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=115th of 194
- Economy & Innovation=132nd of 176
- Work & Labour=140th of 182
- Education & Knowledge114th of 171
- Health & Wellbeing194th of 200
- Development & Human Capital178th of 196
- Gender & Equality=79th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties92nd of 198
- Peace & Security57th of 177
- Risk & Resilience93rd of 192
- Food & Agriculture136th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality152nd of 159
- Digital & Technology159th of 198
- The full Lesotho profile
Nearby, on environment & sustainability
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Air quality and biodiversity are not keys, because the site does not yet hold data for them that passes every test. Forest cover, farmland, organic farming, farm emissions and the renewable share of electricity are published here as context. Exposure to natural hazards belongs to Risk & Resilience.
How the Environment & Sustainability standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 25 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 181 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- CO₂ Emissions per Capita — Global Carbon Project, CC BY 4.0
- Water Stress — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Ecological Footprint — Global Footprint Network, CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 5 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Lesotho’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Lesotho (banner) — User:Kentstander derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.5
- DR Congo — Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Mozambique — Stig Nygaard derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Guinea-Bissau — (WT-en) Pis bus at English Wikivoyage, Public domain
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Lesotho: Environment & Sustainability — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/lesotho/environment