Demographics of Lesotho

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Lesotho, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The Demographics of Lesotho describe the condition and overview of Lesotho's peoples. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.

According to the 2006 census, Lesotho has a total population of 1,872,721. Of the population, 23.74 percent lived in urban and 76.26 percent in rural areas. The country's capital, Maseru, accounts for around half of the total urban population. The sex distribution is 911,848 male and 960,873 female, or around 95 males for each 100 females.

The average population density in the country is around 61,7 people per square kilometer. The density is lower in the Lesotho Highlands than in the western lowlands. Although the majority of the population—59.8 percent—is between 15 and 64 years of age, Lesotho has a substantial youth population numbering around 35.3 percent. The annual population growth rate is estimated at 0.13%

According to the 2010 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 2 171 000 in 2010, compared to only 734 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 37.4%, 58.3% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.3% was 65 years or older .

Registration of vital events is in Lesotho not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Fertility data as of 2014 (DHS Program):

Due to Lesotho's long history as a unified nation, that continued even through British colonial rule, the ethnic makeup of the country is very homogenous. Lesotho's ethno-linguistic structure consists almost entirely of the Basotho (singular Mosotho), a Bantu-speaking people: an estimate of 99.7 percent of the people identify as Basotho. The Kwena (Bakoena) are the largest subgroup of the Sotho; other Basotho subgroups include the Natal (North) Nguni, Batloung (the Tlou), Baphuthi (the Phuti), Bafokeng, Bataung (the Tau), Bats'oeneng (the tso'ene) and the Cape (South) Nguni (Thembu). Other ethnic groups include Europeans, numbering in the thousands, and several hundred Asians.

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