Beer consumption per person in Lesotho
Lesotho: Beer consumption per person was 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
Change on year
up 13.4%
World rank
80th
of 187 countries
All-time high
2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
in 2022
All-time low
0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
in 1976
Years of data
61
1961–2022
Beer consumption per person in Lesotho, 1961–2022
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Litres of pure alcohol per person per year.
Analysis
In 2022, beer consumption per person in Lesotho stood at 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year. That is the highest value across all 61 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.4% on the previous year and up 46.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, beer consumption per person in Lesotho peaked at 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year, in 1976.
Lesotho ranks 80th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Beer consumption per person in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.97 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | — |
| 1962 | 0.96 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 0.95 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.0% |
| 1964 | 1.04 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +9.5% |
| 1965 | 0.99 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -4.8% |
| 1966 | 0.99 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.87 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -12.1% |
| 1968 | 0.86 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.1% |
| 1969 | 0.77 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -10.5% |
| 1970 | 0.87 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +13.0% |
| 1971 | 0.97 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +11.5% |
| 1973 | 0.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -27.8% |
| 1974 | 1.28 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +82.9% |
| 1975 | 0.63 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -50.8% |
| 1976 | 0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -20.6% |
| 1977 | 1 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +100.0% |
| 1978 | 1.56 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +56.0% |
| 1979 | 1.34 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -14.1% |
| 1980 | 1.43 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +6.7% |
| 1981 | 1.39 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -2.8% |
| 1982 | 0.9 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -35.3% |
| 1983 | 1.43 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +58.9% |
| 1984 | 1.22 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -14.7% |
| 1985 | 1.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -12.3% |
| 1986 | 0.86 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -19.6% |
| 1987 | 0.75 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -12.8% |
| 1988 | 0.79 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 0.63 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -20.3% |
| 1990 | 1.05 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +66.7% |
| 1991 | 1.01 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -3.8% |
| 1992 | 1.01 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.97 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -4.0% |
| 1994 | 0.96 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 0.94 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 0.91 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -3.2% |
| 1997 | 0.89 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 0.86 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -3.4% |
| 1999 | 0.84 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -2.3% |
| 2000 | 1.38 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +64.5% |
| 2001 | 1.42 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 1.34 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -5.4% |
| 2003 | 1.25 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -6.4% |
| 2004 | 1.22 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 1.18 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 1.17 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.24 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +6.0% |
| 2008 | 1.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +4.7% |
| 2009 | 1.28 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 1.44 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +12.6% |
| 2011 | 1.46 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 1.41 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -3.8% |
| 2013 | 1.39 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 1.42 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 1.64 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +15.3% |
| 2016 | 1.72 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 1.65 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 1.96 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +18.7% |
| 2019 | 2.02 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 1.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | -15.9% |
| 2021 | 1.82 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +7.2% |
| 2022 | 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | +13.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.6336 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year, 3.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8569 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year, 2.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Beer consumption per person 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +100.0% | 0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
| 1974 | +82.9% | 0.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.28 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
| 1990 | +66.7% | 0.63 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.05 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
| 2000 | +64.5% | 0.84 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.38 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
| 1983 | +58.9% | 0.9 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.43 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
| 1978 | +56.0% | 1 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.56 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.9333 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 0.77 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.04 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.9833 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.56 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.05 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 0.63 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.43 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.944 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 0.84 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.05 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.28 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.17 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.42 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.61 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.39 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 2.02 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.86 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 1.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year | 3 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 77 Bolivia 2.13 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
- 78 North Macedonia 2.1 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
- 79 Greece 2.09 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
- 81 Trinidad and Tobago 2.03 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
- 82 Thailand 2.01 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
- 83 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1.99 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
More economy & growth data for Lesotho
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 0 BoP, current US$ (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 0 BoP, current US$ per person (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -5.77 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 54.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -2.44 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4215 includes gold, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per capita 431.19 includes gold, current US$ per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is beer consumption per person in Lesotho?
- Beer consumption per person in Lesotho was 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest beer consumption per person recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 2.07 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022.
- What is the lowest beer consumption per person recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 1976.
- How does Lesotho rank for beer consumption per person?
- Lesotho ranks 80th out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
- Is beer consumption per person rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Beer consumption per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Average annual per capita beer consumption, measured in liters of pure alcohol. Beer contains around 5% of pure alcohol per volume so that one liter of beer contains 0.05 liters of pure alcohol. This means that 5 liters of pure alcohol equals 100 liters of beer.