Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) was 61.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho stood at 61.5%. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho peaked at 61.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 53.2%, in 1991.
Lesotho ranks 106th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 53.2% | — |
| 1992 | 53.7% | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 54.1% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 54.5% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 54.9% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 55.3% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 55.6% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 55.9% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 56.2% | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 56.5% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 56.8% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 57.1% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 57.4% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 57.7% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 58.1% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 58.4% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 58.8% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 59.2% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 59.4% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 59.6% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 59.9% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 60.2% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 60.4% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 60.6% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 60.8% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 61.0% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 61.0% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 61.0% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 60.9% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 60.8% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 61.4% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 61.3% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 61.3% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 61.4% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 61.5% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 54.8% | 53.2% | 56.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 57.9% | 56.5% | 59.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.6% | 59.6% | 61.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.3% | 60.8% | 61.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More work & labour data for Lesotho
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.1902 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1964 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1849 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.293 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.37 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 1,485 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,719 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,674 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,586 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,259 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho?
- Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Lesotho was 61.5% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 61.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.2% in 1991.
- How does Lesotho rank for wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment)?
- Lesotho ranks 106th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Wage and salaried workers (employees) are those workers who hold the type of jobs defined as "paid employment jobs," where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work.