Botswana vs Lesotho
Botswana has 8% more people than Lesotho: 2,562,122 vs 2,363,325, a gap of 198,797. Botswana is growing faster (+1.61% vs +1.10% a year), adding about 41,314 people a year against +26,045. At these source-year rates the modelled relative population gap is widening. Lesotho is 17.4× as densely populated (76.1 vs 4.4 people per km²). People in Botswana live 11.5 years longer on average (69.3 vs 57.8). GDP per capita is 7.1× higher in Botswana ($7,778 vs $1,089).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Botswana) and 2025 (Lesotho); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Botswana vs Lesotho — side by side
 Botswana |  Lesotho | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,562,1222025 | 2,363,3252025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.61%2025 | +1.10%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 24.42024 | 23.82024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 5.72024 | 10.52024 |
| Children per woman | 2.702024 | 2.662024 |
| Life expectancy | 69.3 yrs2024 | 57.8 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 32.0%2025 | 34.1%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 4.1%2025 | 3.9%2025 |
| Density | 4.4 /km²2023 | 76.1 /km²2023 |
| Area | 581,730 km²2023 | 30,360 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 68.0%2025 | 44.7%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -5,6652025 | -5,1922025 |
| GDP per capita | $7,7782025 | $1,0892025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #143 | #144 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.03% | 0.03% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Botswana: 5.0× from 1960 to 2025; Lesotho: 3.2× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa · rankings
Botswana: Botswana vs Jamaica, Botswana vs Gambia, Botswana vs Gabon, Botswana vs Lesotho, Botswana vs Moldova, Botswana vs Albania.
Lesotho: Lesotho vs Gambia, Lesotho vs Gabon, Lesotho vs Botswana, Lesotho vs Moldova, Lesotho vs Albania, Lesotho vs Guinea-Bissau.
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