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Human Development Index
| Ranking | 158 |
| Year | Lesotho | Low human development | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
| 2012 | 0.461 | 0.466 | 0.475 | 0.694 |
| 2011 | 0.456 | 0.464 | 0.472 | 0.692 |
| 2010 | 0.452 | 0.461 | 0.468 | 0.690 |
| 2009 | 0.448 | 0.455 | 0.463 | 0.685 |
| 2008 | 0.441 | 0.448 | 0.456 | 0.683 |
| 2007 | 0.431 | 0.442 | 0.449 | 0.678 |
| 2006 | 0.429 | 0.432 | 0.440 | 0.672 |
| 2005 | 0.425 | 0.424 | 0.432 | 0.666 |
| 2000 | 0.429 | 0.385 | 0.405 | 0.639 |
| 1995 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.397 | 0.618 |
| 1990 | 0.474 | 0.350 | 0.387 | 0.600 |
| 1985 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.378 | 0.578 |
| 1980 | 0.422 | 0.315 | 0.366 | 0.561 |
Human Development Index
Read more about the Human Development Index
Health
| Life expectancy at birth (years) | 48.7 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Expenditure on health, public (% of GDP) (%) | 8.5 | |
| Under-five mortality (per 1,000 live births) | 85 | |
| Life expectancy at birth (years) | 48.7 | |
| Health index | 0.453 |
Education
| Mean years of schooling (of adults) (years) | 5.9 |
Income
| GNI per capita in PPP terms (constant 2005 international $) (Constant 2005 international $) | 1,879 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| GNI per capita in PPP terms (constant 2005 international $) (Constant 2005 international $) | 1,879 |
Inequality
| Inequality-adjusted HDI value | 0.296 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Loss due to inequality in life expectancy (%) | 34.3 | |
| Loss due to inequality in education (%) | 24.3 | |
| Loss due to inequality in income (%) | 47.0 | |
| Inequality-adjusted education index | 0.379 | 8 |
| Inequality-adjusted life expectancy index | 0.297 | |
| Inequality-adjusted income index | 0.229 | 9 |
| Inequality-adjusted HDI value | 0.296 |
Poverty
| MPI: Multidimensional poverty index (%) | 0.156 |
Gender
| GII: Gender Inequality Index, value | 0.534 |
Sustainability
| Carbon dioxide emissions per capita (tonnes) | n.a. |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Carbon dioxide emissions per capita (tonnes) | n.a. | |
| Population living on degraded land (%) | n.a. | |
| Change in forest area, 1990/2010 (%) | 10.0 |
Demography
| Population, total both sexes (thousands) | 2,216.9 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Population, total both sexes (thousands) | 2,216.9 | 13 |
| Population, urban (%) (% of population) | 28.3 | |
| Population, female (thousands) | 1,122.97 | |
| Population, male (thousands) | 1,093.88 |
Composite indices
| Non-income HDI value | 0.476 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Non-income HDI value | 0.476 |
Innovation and technology
| Fixed and mobile telephone subscribers per 100 people (per100 people) | 47.3 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| Fixed and mobile telephone subscribers per 100 people (per100 people) | 47.3 |
Trade, economy and income
| Income index | 0.433 |
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
| GDP per capita (2005 PPP $) | 1,504 | |
| Income index | 0.433 |
Footnotes
| 1. | Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified. |
| 2. | Data refer to 2011 or the most recent year available. |
| 3. | Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified. |
| 4. | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics (UIS) estimate derived from its Global Age-specific Literacy Projections Model, which is based on national data since 2000. |
| 5. | Updated by HDRO based on UNESCO (2012) data. |
| 6. | Data refer to 2010 or the most recent year available. |
| 7. | Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified. |
| 8. | The list of surveys used for estimation of inequalities is given at http://hdr.undp.org. |
| 9. | The list of surveys used for estimation of inequalities is given at http://hdr.undp.org. |
| 10. | Not all indicators were available for all countries; caution should thus be used in cross-country comparisons. Where data are missing, indicator weights are adjusted to total 100 percent. For details on countries missing data, see Alkire and others (2011). |
| 11. | Estimates have been computed to ensure comparability across countries; thus they are not necessarily the same as official statistics of the countries, which may use alternative rigorous methods. |
| 12. | Data were computed to ensure comparability across countries and are thus not necessarily the same as official country statistics, which may be based on alternative rigorous methods. Data are rounded according to the following scheme: less than 100, no rounding; 100–999, rounded to the nearest 10; and greater than 1,000, rounded to the nearest 100. |
| 13. | Projections based on medium-fertility variant. |
| n.a. | Data not available |
Human Development Index: Trends 1980 - present
The Human Development Index - going beyond income
Each year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the Human Development Index (HDI) which was introduced as an alternative to conventional measures of national development, such as level of income and the rate of economic growth. The HDI represents a push for a broader definition of well-being and provides a composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development: health, education and income. Between 1980 and 2012 Lesotho's HDI rose by 1.2% annually from 0.422 to 0.461 today, which gives the country a rank of 158 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.366 in 1980 to 0.475 today, placing Lesotho below the regional average. The HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our interconnected world. Learn more