Statizoid

Political Corruption Index in Lesotho

Lesotho: Political Corruption Index was 0.472 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.472
Change on year
down 14.8%
World rank
92nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.645
in 1986
All-time low
0.161
in 1904
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political Corruption Index in Lesotho, 1900–2025

0.20.30.40.50.6190019622025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, political corruption index in Lesotho stood at 0.472.

The figure is down 14.8% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political corruption index in Lesotho peaked at 0.645 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.161, in 1904.

Lesotho ranks 92nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Political Corruption Index in Lesotho, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.211 —
1901 0.211 +0.0%
1902 0.211 +0.0%
1903 0.211 +0.0%
1904 0.161 -23.7%
1905 0.211 +31.1%
1906 0.161 -23.7%
1907 0.161 +0.0%
1908 0.211 +31.1%
1909 0.211 +0.0%
1910 0.211 +0.0%
1911 0.211 +0.0%
1912 0.211 +0.0%
1913 0.211 +0.0%
1914 0.211 +0.0%
1915 0.211 +0.0%
1916 0.211 +0.0%
1917 0.211 +0.0%
1918 0.211 +0.0%
1919 0.211 +0.0%
1920 0.211 +0.0%
1921 0.211 +0.0%
1922 0.211 +0.0%
1923 0.211 +0.0%
1924 0.211 +0.0%
1925 0.211 +0.0%
1926 0.211 +0.0%
1927 0.211 +0.0%
1928 0.211 +0.0%
1929 0.211 +0.0%
1930 0.211 +0.0%
1931 0.211 +0.0%
1932 0.211 +0.0%
1933 0.211 +0.0%
1934 0.211 +0.0%
1935 0.211 +0.0%
1936 0.211 +0.0%
1937 0.211 +0.0%
1938 0.211 +0.0%
1939 0.211 +0.0%
1940 0.211 +0.0%
1941 0.211 +0.0%
1942 0.211 +0.0%
1943 0.211 +0.0%
1944 0.211 +0.0%
1945 0.211 +0.0%
1946 0.211 +0.0%
1947 0.211 +0.0%
1948 0.211 +0.0%
1949 0.211 +0.0%
1950 0.191 -9.5%
1951 0.191 +0.0%
1952 0.191 +0.0%
1953 0.191 +0.0%
1954 0.191 +0.0%
1955 0.191 +0.0%
1956 0.191 +0.0%
1957 0.191 +0.0%
1958 0.191 +0.0%
1959 0.191 +0.0%
1960 0.253 +32.5%
1961 0.253 +0.0%
1962 0.253 +0.0%
1963 0.253 +0.0%
1964 0.253 +0.0%
1965 0.276 +9.1%
1966 0.308 +11.6%
1967 0.308 +0.0%
1968 0.308 +0.0%
1969 0.335 +8.8%
1970 0.596 +77.9%
1971 0.596 +0.0%
1972 0.596 +0.0%
1973 0.528 -11.4%
1974 0.528 +0.0%
1975 0.528 +0.0%
1976 0.528 +0.0%
1977 0.528 +0.0%
1978 0.528 +0.0%
1979 0.528 +0.0%
1980 0.528 +0.0%
1981 0.528 +0.0%
1982 0.528 +0.0%
1983 0.528 +0.0%
1984 0.528 +0.0%
1985 0.528 +0.0%
1986 0.645 +22.2%
1987 0.621 -3.7%
1988 0.621 +0.0%
1989 0.621 +0.0%
1990 0.637 +2.6%
1991 0.583 -8.5%
1992 0.583 +0.0%
1993 0.459 -21.3%
1994 0.459 +0.0%
1995 0.459 +0.0%
1996 0.459 +0.0%
1997 0.459 +0.0%
1998 0.592 +29.0%
1999 0.592 +0.0%
2000 0.592 +0.0%
2001 0.592 +0.0%
2002 0.571 -3.5%
2003 0.57 -0.2%
2004 0.57 +0.0%
2005 0.57 +0.0%
2006 0.57 +0.0%
2007 0.57 +0.0%
2008 0.57 +0.0%
2009 0.57 +0.0%
2010 0.57 +0.0%
2011 0.57 +0.0%
2012 0.555 -2.6%
2013 0.49 -11.7%
2014 0.49 +0.0%
2015 0.559 +14.1%
2016 0.537 -3.9%
2017 0.495 -7.8%
2018 0.512 +3.4%
2019 0.469 -8.4%
2020 0.487 +3.8%
2021 0.536 +10.1%
2022 0.534 -0.4%
2023 0.555 +3.9%
2024 0.554 -0.2%
2025 0.472 -14.8%

Lesotho compared with similar countries

  • Lesotho's 0.472 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.7175, 66% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Lesotho's 0.472 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6615, 71% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.196 0.161 0.211 10
1910s 0.211 0.211 0.211 10
1920s 0.211 0.211 0.211 10
1930s 0.211 0.211 0.211 10
1940s 0.211 0.211 0.211 10
1950s 0.191 0.191 0.191 10
1960s 0.28 0.253 0.335 10
1970s 0.5484 0.528 0.596 10
1980s 0.5676 0.528 0.645 10
1990s 0.5282 0.459 0.637 10
2000s 0.5745 0.57 0.592 10
2010s 0.5247 0.469 0.57 10
2020s 0.523 0.472 0.555 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 89 Hungary 0.488 compare
  2. 90 Panama 0.485 compare
  3. 91 Bahrain 0.477 compare
  4. 92 Armenia 0.472 compare
  5. 94 Vietnam 0.466 compare
  6. 95 Montenegro 0.43 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is political corruption index in Lesotho?
Political corruption index in Lesotho was 0.472 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political corruption index recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 0.645 in 1986.
What is the lowest political corruption index recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 0.161 in 1904.
How does Lesotho rank for political corruption index?
Lesotho ranks 92nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political corruption index rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Corruption Index in Lesotho. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/political-corruption-index/lesotho/

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About this data

Indicator
Political Corruption Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 25,295 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.