Annual CO₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho
Lesotho: Annual CO₂ emissions from coal was 1.64 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Annual CO₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho, 1990–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 1.64 million tonnes for annual co₂ emissions from coal in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.5% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual co₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho peaked at 2.40 million tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.14 million tonnes, in 1990.
That places Lesotho 84th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Annual CO₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.14 million tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 1.19 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 1992 | 1.25 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 1.29 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 1.33 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 1995 | 1.35 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 1.38 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 1.40 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 1.43 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 1.45 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 1.47 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 1.49 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 1.52 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 1.54 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 1.57 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 1.60 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 1.62 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 1.65 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 1.68 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 1.71 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 1.75 million tonnes | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 2.21 million tonnes | +26.2% |
| 2012 | 2.20 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.53 million tonnes | -30.3% |
| 2014 | 1.67 million tonnes | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 1.43 million tonnes | -14.3% |
| 2016 | 1.38 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 1.63 million tonnes | +18.6% |
| 2018 | 1.48 million tonnes | -9.4% |
| 2019 | 1.47 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 1.35 million tonnes | -8.1% |
| 2021 | 2.40 million tonnes | +77.5% |
| 2022 | 1.64 million tonnes | -31.8% |
| 2023 | 1.57 million tonnes | -4.1% |
| 2024 | 1.64 million tonnes | +4.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.64 million tonnes is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 589,296 tonnes, 2.8× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.64 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 45,300 tonnes, 36.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual CO₂ emissions from coal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +77.5% | 1.35 million tonnes | 2.40 million tonnes |
| 2022 | -31.8% | 2.40 million tonnes | 1.64 million tonnes |
| 2013 | -30.3% | 2.20 million tonnes | 1.53 million tonnes |
| 2011 | +26.2% | 1.75 million tonnes | 2.21 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.32 million tonnes | 1.14 million tonnes | 1.45 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.59 million tonnes | 1.47 million tonnes | 1.71 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.68 million tonnes | 1.38 million tonnes | 2.21 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.72 million tonnes | 1.35 million tonnes | 2.40 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More climate change data for Lesotho
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 6.55 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,116 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 715.74 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,401 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.7 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 50.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 61.29 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 51.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 9.3 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.1962 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual co₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho?
- Annual co₂ emissions from coal in Lesotho was 1.64 million tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual co₂ emissions from coal recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 2.40 million tonnes in 2021.
- What is the lowest annual co₂ emissions from coal recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for annual co₂ emissions from coal?
- Lesotho ranks 84th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is annual co₂ emissions from coal rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual CO₂ emissions from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal, measured in tonnes.