Lesotho’s population rose to 2.4 m people in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A larger population can strain public services or widen the labour force and the customer base, and a smaller one can do the reverse, so the direction alone carries no verdict. The latest figure is 2.4 million, against 2.3 million a year earlier, a rise of 1.1%. That is the highest level since 2016, when the total was 2.1 million. Growth has been steady across that span, and the 2025 estimate sits at the top of its range.

Why it matters. A population of 2.4 million sets the scale of demand for classrooms, clinics and housing, and the state has to fund these for roughly 0.03 million more people than a year earlier. Firms draw on a slightly larger pool of workers and shoppers. Households feel it where jobs and services expand more slowly than the number of people using them.