Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho
Lesotho: Citizen satisfaction with democracy was -0.1528 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho, 2003–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho is -0.1528, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and up 40.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho peaked at 0.0484 in 2003 and was at its lowest, -0.4708, in 2008.
That places Lesotho 70th out of 131 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.0484 | — |
| 2004 | -0.0711 | -246.8% |
| 2005 | -0.1886 | +165.4% |
| 2006 | -0.2803 | +48.6% |
| 2007 | -0.3752 | +33.8% |
| 2008 | -0.4708 | +25.5% |
| 2009 | -0.3668 | -22.1% |
| 2010 | -0.2584 | -29.5% |
| 2011 | -0.1539 | -40.4% |
| 2012 | -0.0504 | -67.3% |
| 2013 | -0.197 | +291.0% |
| 2014 | -0.3432 | +74.3% |
| 2015 | -0.2771 | -19.3% |
| 2016 | -0.2163 | -22.0% |
| 2017 | -0.1523 | -29.6% |
| 2018 | -0.1525 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | -0.1499 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | -0.1528 | +1.9% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's -0.1528 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.2275, 67% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's -0.1528 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.1972, 78% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | -291.0% | -0.0504 | -0.197 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -0.2435 | -0.4708 | 0.0484 | 7 |
| 2010s | -0.1951 | -0.3432 | -0.0504 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1528 | -0.1528 | -0.1528 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More social development data for Lesotho
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 27 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 27 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho?
- Citizen satisfaction with democracy in Lesotho was -0.1528 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0484 in 2003.
- What is the lowest citizen satisfaction with democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.4708 in 2008.
- How does Lesotho rank for citizen satisfaction with democracy?
- Lesotho ranks 70th out of 131 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen satisfaction with democracy rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen satisfaction with democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the average extent to which citizens are satisfied with democracy in their own country. It combines responses across more than one thousand nationally-representative surveys on how citizens' satisfaction with democracy.