Gambia vs Lesotho

Gambia and Lesotho compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Gambia has about 1.2 times as many people as Lesotho: 2.8 million against 2.4 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Lesotho ($1,089) is 18% higher than in Gambia ($919) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Gambia (5.9%) than in Lesotho (2%), a difference of 3.9 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Gambia (11.6% in 2024) than in Lesotho (4.3% in 2025), a difference of 7.3 percentage points.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Lesotho (16.3%) than in Gambia (6.5%), a difference of 9.8 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Gambia can expect to live 8.3 years longer than one born in Lesotho: 66.1 years against 57.8 years in 2024.
• The population of Lesotho is older: half of its people are over 21.4 years, against 18.2 years in Gambia in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Lesotho (51.8%) than in Gambia (49.5%), a difference of 2.3 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Lesotho (0.43 tonnes) are about 2.4 times as high as in Gambia (0.18 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Gambia (21.3%) than in Lesotho (1.1%), a difference of 20.2 percentage points in 2024.