Freedom Score in Lesotho
Lesotho: Freedom Score was 67 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Lesotho, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Lesotho is 67, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Lesotho peaked at 74 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 63, in 2018.
Lesotho ranks 91st of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 71 | — |
| 2003 | 72 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 72 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 74 | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 73 | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 71 | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 71 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 70 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 70 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 69 | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 72 | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 72 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 71 | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 67 | -5.6% |
| 2016 | 64 | -4.5% |
| 2017 | 64 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 63 | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 63 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 66 | +4.8% |
| 2023 | 66 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 66 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 67 | +1.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 67 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 67 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 71.75 | 70 | 74 | 8 |
| 2010s | 67.5 | 63 | 72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.17 | 63 | 67 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 89 Malawi 68 compare
- 89 Montenegro 68 compare
- 91 Dominican Republic 67 compare
- 91 North Macedonia 67 compare
- 94 Peru 66 compare
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 freedom score in Lesotho?
- Freedom score in Lesotho was 67 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 74 in 2005.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 63 in 2018.
- How does Lesotho rank for freedom score?
- Lesotho ranks 91st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Freedom House's total democracy score is a 0-to-100 aggregate that adds up a country's points on 25 indicators of political rights (max 40) and civil liberties (max 60), creating a single snapshot of the freedoms people actually enjoy.