Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho
Lesotho: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
down 2.4%
World rank
153rd
of 199 countries
All-time high
5.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1939
All-time low
0.8744 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1850
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
Analysis
The most recent figure for per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho is 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and up 43.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho peaked at 5.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1939 and was at its lowest, 0.8744 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1850.
Lesotho ranks 153rd of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8744 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 1.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 2.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.74 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 2.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 3.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.18 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 5.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 4.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.84 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.84 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 150 Mali 2.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 151 Morocco 2.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 152 Sudan 2.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 154 Philippines 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 155 Tonga 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 156 Burkina Faso 2.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for Lesotho
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.0% (2100)
- Population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Population, total 2.36 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.3% (2025)
- Urban population 1.06 million (2025)
- Urban population 44.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 1.1 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 72.33 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 1.1 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 1.1 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Lesotho was 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 5.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1939.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8744 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1850.
- How does Lesotho rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Lesotho ranks 153rd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.