Lesotho's labor force, total was 889,530 in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 6.24% from 837,276 in 2015 (0.61% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 889,530 | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 819,139 | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 837,276 | 2015 |
| Highest | 889,530 | 2025 |
| Lowest | 761,128 | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 842,013 | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 761,128 | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Lesotho's labor force, total rose 1.2% on 2024 (from 878,864 to 889,530).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.2% and a typical year strayed about 1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.8% in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.1% in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 7,527 a year. A straight line explains 71% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Lesotho had the 143rd highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Lesotho | 889,530 | 2025 |
| World | 3.74 billion | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 526.96 million | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 1.2 billion | 2025 |
Closest to Lesotho in the 2025 ranking
- Latvia — 140th of 182: 948,428
- Bahrain — 141st of 182: 919,501
- Guinea-Bissau — 142nd of 182: 899,220
- Gabon — 144th of 182: 844,145
- Gambia, The — 145th of 182: 807,275
- North Macedonia — 146th of 182: 789,369
What this measures
Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 36 values
| Year | Labor force, total |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 889,530 |
| 2024 | 878,864 |
| 2023 | 864,326 |
| 2022 | 850,547 |
| 2021 | 827,248 |
| 2020 | 819,139 |
| 2019 | 814,339 |
| 2018 | 820,144 |
| 2017 | 825,264 |
| 2016 | 830,732 |
| 2015 |
Labor force, total in nearby economies
- Angola — 16.32 million (2025)
- Benin — 6.64 million (2025)
- Botswana — 1.2 million (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 9.91 million (2025)
- Burundi — 6.31 million (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 226,448 (2025)
- Cameroon — 11.47 million (2025)
- Central African Republic — 2.08 million (2025)
- Chad — 6.75 million (2025)
- Comoros — 310,841 (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 39.22 million (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — 2.64 million (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Lesotho
- Net migration — -5,192 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 478 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 27 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 23.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 45.46% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 34.63% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 50.49% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's labor force, total?
- 889,530 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 16.87% from 761,128 in 1990 (0.45% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 889,530 in 2025 and the lowest 761,128 in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 143rd highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in labor force, total unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2025, Lesotho's labor force, total rose 1.2% on 2024 (from 878,864 to 889,530). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.2% and a typical year strayed about 1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.IN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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