Lesotho's people using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) was 45.04% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 8.28 percentage points from 36.77% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 45.04% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 40.87% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 36.77% | 2014 |
| Highest | 45.04% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 25.73% | 2000 |
| Average since 2015 | 41.3% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 25.73% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Lesotho's people using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) rose 0.84 percentage points on 2023 (from 44.2% to 45.04%).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.8 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.84 percentage points in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.83 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 100% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 47.5% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.05%, against 1.67% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2024, Lesotho had the 153rd highest value of the 170 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 | 45.04% | 2024 |
| World | 89.17% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 50.6% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 78.02% | 2024 |
Closest to Lesotho in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
The percentage of people using at least basic sanitation services, that is, improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households. This indicator encompasses both people using basic sanitation services as well as those using safely managed sanitation services. Improved sanitation facilities include flush/pour flush to piped sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines; ventilated improved pit latrines, composting toilets or pit latrines with slabs.
Limitations: National, regional and income group estimates are made when data are available for at least 50 percent of the population.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 25 values
| Year | People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 45.04 |
| 2023 | 44.2 |
| 2022 | 43.37 |
| 2021 | 42.53 |
| 2020 | 41.7 |
| 2019 | 40.87 |
| 2018 | 40.04 |
| 2017 | 39.22 |
| 2016 | 38.4 |
| 2015 | 37.58 |
People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 62.84% (2022)
- Benin — 32.39% (2024)
- Botswana — 77.28% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 48.45% (2024)
- Burundi — 42.01% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 86.14% (2024)
- Cameroon — 61.93% (2024)
- Central African Republic — 24.55% (2024)
More health data for Lesotho
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 10.7% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 11.44% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 400,450 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 33.06% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 405,493 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 35.19% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 805,943 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 34.1% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 11.21% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's people using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population)?
- 45.04% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.BASS.UR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), uri: washdata.org, publisher: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org), date accessed: 2025-09-30, date published: 2025-08… 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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