CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho
Lesotho: CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry was 930,829 tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho, 1990–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 930,829 tonnes for co₂ emissions by fuel or industry in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 62.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho peaked at 930,829 tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 330,582 tonnes, in 1990.
Lesotho ranks 163rd of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 330,582 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 333,424 tonnes | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 340,752 tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 344,416 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 348,080 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 355,408 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 358,316 tonnes | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 365,643 tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 370,064 tonnes | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 373,728 tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 378,141 tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 381,056 tonnes | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 389,132 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 388,384 tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 406,704 tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2005 | 414,032 tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 409,630 tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 421,360 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 439,680 tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 505,632 tonnes | +15.0% |
| 2010 | 523,952 tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 548,871 tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2012 | 593,568 tonnes | +8.1% |
| 2013 | 593,568 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 571,584 tonnes | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 611,888 tonnes | +7.1% |
| 2016 | 648,528 tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2017 | 652,192 tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 685,168 tonnes | +5.1% |
| 2019 | 716,943 tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 633,872 tonnes | -11.6% |
| 2021 | 696,160 tonnes | +9.8% |
| 2022 | 913,536 tonnes | +31.2% |
| 2023 | 922,938 tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 930,829 tonnes | +0.9% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 930,829 tonnes is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.44 million tonnes, 17% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 930,829 tonnes is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.02 million tonnes, 31% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +31.2% | 696,160 tonnes | 913,536 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 352,041 tonnes | 330,582 tonnes | 373,728 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 413,375 tonnes | 378,141 tonnes | 505,632 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 614,626 tonnes | 523,952 tonnes | 716,943 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 819,467 tonnes | 633,872 tonnes | 930,829 tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 160 Montenegro 1.09 million tonnes compare
- 161 Malta 1.00 million tonnes compare
- 162 Equatorial Guinea 996,687 tonnes compare
- 164 French Polynesia 922,867 tonnes compare
- 165 Aruba 920,644 tonnes compare
- 166 Eswatini 864,764 tonnes compare
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 co₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho?
- Co₂ emissions by fuel or industry in Lesotho was 930,829 tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co₂ emissions by fuel or industry recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 930,829 tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest co₂ emissions by fuel or industry recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 330,582 tonnes in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for co₂ emissions by fuel or industry?
- Lesotho ranks 163rd out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is co₂ emissions by fuel or industry rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.9%. 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 CO₂ emissions by fuel or industry. 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 oil, measured in tonnes.