Liberal democracy in Lesotho
Lesotho: Liberal democracy was 2 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Liberal democracy in Lesotho, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 2 for liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, liberal democracy in Lesotho peaked at 2 in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
That places Lesotho 32nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 32 Argentina 2 compare
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More social development data for Lesotho
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 478 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 27 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Varieties of democracy 0.661 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.512 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.835 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.835 (2025)
- Key features of electoral democracy 0.661 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is liberal democracy in Lesotho?
- Liberal democracy in Lesotho was 2 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest liberal democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1993.
- What is the lowest liberal democracy recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Lesotho rank for liberal democracy?
- Lesotho ranks 32nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is liberal democracy rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.