Photo: User:Kentstander derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 13 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Lesotho: Food & Agriculture
What does a country grow, and what does it take to grow it?
Lesotho is placed 136th of 175 countries on food & agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Cereal Yield 804.1 (2023); Agriculture Orientation Index 0.35 (2024).
Food & Agriculture
136th
of 175 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Lesotho on food & agriculture — 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 4
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much food a hectare of land produces: the clearest single measure of how productively a country farms.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
804.1
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
Lesotho: 804.1. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
- Best in Southern Africa
- 5,703 South Africa
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 5,703
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Organic Agricultural Area
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Farmland managed without synthetic fertiliser or pesticide — how a country farms, set beside how much it grows.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Organic share of agricultural land (%)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Lesotho, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 156 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Afghanistan) to 86.38 (Samoa); the world median is 0.725.
- World median
- 0.725
- Best in Southern Africa
- 0.63 Eswatini
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 0.03
Each grey tick is one of 156 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Dietary Energy Supply
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether the food a country produces and imports covers what its population needs to eat, measured before anyone has eaten it.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Lesotho, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.
- World median
- 2,982
- Best in Southern Africa
- 2,715 Botswana
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 2,659
Each grey tick is one of 155 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Agriculture Orientation Index
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much public spending agriculture attracts set against the share of the economy it produces — whether a state invests in its farms or lives off them.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
0.35
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
Higher is better
Lesotho: 0.35. Across the 132 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Ghana) to 5.38 (Singapore); the world median is 0.305.
- World median
- 0.305
- Best in Southern Africa
- 2.16 Botswana
- Land neighbours
- South Africa 0.43
Each grey tick is one of 132 countries in the 2024 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.
Cereal Yield
Cereal yield (kg per hectare) · higher is better
LesothoWorld median
Lesotho rose from 718.8 in 2000 to 804.1 in 2023; the world median went from 2,170 to 3,072.
Every year’s figures
Year Lesotho World median 2023 804 3,072 2022 729 3,217 2021 973 3,003 2020 437 3,260 2019 705 3,106 2018 716 2,883 2017 990 2,984 2016 471 3,043 2015 662 3,000 2014 683 3,001 2013 769 2,970 2012 656 2,782 2011 664 2,754 2010 909 2,647 2009 402 2,653 2008 375 2,664 2007 414 2,553 2006 491 2,514 2005 687 2,512 2004 595 2,428 2003 609 2,331 2002 736 2,378 2001 996 2,199 2000 719 2,170 Organic Agricultural Area
Organic share of agricultural land (%) · higher is better
LesothoWorld median
Lesotho fell from 0.02 in 2008 to 0 in 2018; the world median went from 0.29 to 0.49.
Every year’s figures
Year Lesotho World median 2024 — 0.725 2023 — 0.780 2022 — 0.740 2021 — 0.710 2020 — 0.665 2019 — 0.550 2018 0.00 0.490 2017 — 0.630 2016 0.02 0.545 2015 0.02 0.540 2014 0.02 0.470 2013 0.02 0.440 2012 0.02 0.480 2011 0.01 0.460 2010 — 0.330 2009 0.01 0.335 2008 0.02 0.290 2007 — 0.370 2006 — 0.305 2005 — 0.345 Agriculture Orientation Index
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) · higher is better
LesothoWorld median
Lesotho fell from 0.5 in 2001 to 0.35 in 2024; the world median went from 0.36 to 0.305.
Every year’s figures
Year Lesotho World median 2024 0.35 0.305 2023 0.24 0.305 2022 0.41 0.290 2021 0.36 0.260 2020 0.43 0.255 2019 0.51 0.265 2018 0.60 0.270 2017 0.60 0.260 2016 0.54 0.285 2015 0.69 0.305 2014 0.66 0.300 2013 0.53 0.285 2012 0.55 0.330 2011 0.58 0.290 2010 0.55 0.320 2009 0.54 0.370 2008 0.66 0.390 2007 0.66 0.410 2006 0.56 0.355 2005 0.61 0.325 2004 0.65 0.320 2003 0.62 0.320 2002 0.59 0.340 2001 0.50 0.360
03In context
Lesotho beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 175 countries on food & agriculture, never a place within the region.
Lesotho and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 175 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) | Organic Agricultural AreaOrganic share of agricultural land (%) | Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) | Agriculture Orientation IndexAgriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Africa | 90th | 5,703 | 0.03 | 2,659 | 0.43 |
| Lesotho | 136th | 804.1 | — | — | 0.35 |
“—” 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 175.
Placed either side on food & agriculture
The countries immediately above and below Lesotho in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Lesotho is ahead of the world, and behind
17 more statistics filed under food & agriculture, 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 median1
Statistics on which Lesotho does better than the middle country measured.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.23107.64106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Lesotho: 107.64 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 87th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median4
Statistics on which Lesotho does worse than the middle country measured.
Global Report on Food CrisesFSIN · 2024 · world median 222722▲ Improved since 2016
Lesotho: 27 · world median 22 · In IPC Phase 3+ (% of analysed population). Food Security Information Network (FSIN), 2025 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3 to 56; lower is better.
Position 15th of 44 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.0898.67106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Lesotho: 98.67 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 151st of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.0693.82107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
Lesotho: 93.82 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 163rd of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2023 · world median 4.724.74.7▲ Improved since 2018
Lesotho: 24.7 · world median 4.7 · Population in severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 63.1; lower is better.
Position 15th of 127 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end12
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.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.3830.8814.38Moved since 2015
Lesotho: 30.88 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 55th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Cereal Import Dependency RatioFAO · 2022 · world median 42.868.442.8Moved since 2012
Lesotho: 68.4 · world median 42.8 · Share of the cereal supply that is imported (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from -1,894 to 100.
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.
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.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 6.5726.4866.572Moved since 2015
Lesotho: 6.486 · world median 6.572 · Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.025 to 47.59.
Position 80th of 158 — 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.
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
Dietary Energy Supply, Organic Agricultural Area (last 2018) and Prevalence of Undernourishment. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Food & Agriculture among Lesotho’s 14 topics
Food & Agriculture is Lesotho’s 10th 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 food & agriculture
The three countries placed highest of 175, and the leaders Lesotho can most readily be measured against.
1
AustriaWestern Europe
1st of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
2
IrelandNorthern Europe
2nd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3
CzechiaEastern Europe
3rd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Africa
Egypt54th4/4 keysHighest in Southern Africa
South Africa90th4/4 keysThis page
Lesotho136th2/4 keys
Positions out of 175 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 food & agriculture: 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 food & agriculture?
Lesotho is placed 136th of 175 countries on Food & Agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (Cereal Yield and Agriculture Orientation Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Cereal Yield figure for Lesotho?
804.1 in 2023 (cereal yield (kg per hectare)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3,072.
What is the latest Agriculture Orientation Index figure for Lesotho?
0.35 in 2024 (agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 0.305.
How does Lesotho compare with South Africa on food & agriculture?
South Africa is placed 90th of 175, and Lesotho 136th. Cereal Yield: South Africa 5,703, Lesotho 804.1; Agriculture Orientation Index: South Africa 0.43, Lesotho 0.35.
How have Lesotho’s food & agriculture figures changed?
Cereal Yield rose from 718.8 in 2000 to 804.1 in 2023; Organic Agricultural Area fell from 0.02 in 2008 to 0 in 2018; Agriculture Orientation Index fell from 0.5 in 2001 to 0.35 in 2024.
Which food & agriculture statistics are missing for Lesotho?
No current reading is published for Lesotho on Dietary Energy Supply, Organic Agricultural Area and Prevalence of Undernourishment. 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
- Environment & Sustainability32nd of 181
- Gender & Equality=79th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties92nd of 198
- Peace & Security57th of 177
- Risk & Resilience93rd of 192
- Poverty & Inequality152nd of 159
- Digital & Technology159th of 198
- The full Lesotho profile
Nearby, on food & agriculture
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
This subject is about production and land use, not about whether people are fed. Hunger, undernourishment and what a population actually eats are measured under Health & Wellbeing, and the two regularly disagree — a country can grow a great deal and still leave many people short, and one that grows little can be well fed by trade. The wider environmental cost of farming — emissions, water withdrawal, forest cover — is filed under Environment & Sustainability.
How the Food & Agriculture 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. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 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 2024, 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 4 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. 175 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 4.
- 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
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Organic Agricultural Area — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Dietary Energy Supply — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Agriculture Orientation Index — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 17 statistics on this page come from 4 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
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ireland — derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Czechia — john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Lesotho: Food & Agriculture — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/lesotho/food