Energy consumption in Lesotho

The most important figure in the energy balance of Lesotho is the total consumption of

847.30 million kWh

of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 371 kWh.

Lesotho can partly be self-sufficient with domestically produced energy. The total production of all electric energy producing facilities is 510 m kWh. That is 60 percent of the country's own usage. The rest of the needed energy is imported from foreign countries. Along with pure consumption, the production, imports and exports play an important role. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or crude oil are also used.

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Energy Balance

Electricity	total	Lesotho per capita	USA per capita
Own consumption	847.30 m kWh	371.39 kWh	11,756.77 kWh
Production	510.00 m kWh	223.54 kWh	12,338.29 kWh
Import	373.00 m kWh	163.49 kWh	219.11 kWh
47.4% of the country's population (as of 2020) has access to electricity.In rural areas, the share was 34.9%

CO₂ emissions

	CO₂ emissions in 2019	Lesotho per capita	USA per capita
total	770,000.00 t	0.35 t	14.67 t

Development of CO₂ emissions from 1990 to 2019 in million tons
See also: CO₂ equivalents by country

Production capacities per energy source

The given production capacities for electric energy have a theoretical value, which can only be obtained under ideal conditions. They are measuring the generatable amount of energy, that would be reached under permanent and full use of all capacities of all power plants.

In practice this isn't possible, because e.g. solar collectors are less efficient under clouds. Also wind- and water-power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries.

Energy source	total in Lesotho	Percentage in Lesotho	Percentage USA	per capita in Lesotho	per capita USA
Fossil fuels	0.00 kWh	0,0 %	70,0 %	0.00 kWh	20,083.19 kWh
Nuclear power	0.00 kWh	0,0 %	9,0 %	0.00 kWh	2,582.12 kWh
Water power	704.30 m kWh	100,0 %	7,0 %	308.71 kWh	2,008.32 kWh
Renewable energy	7.04 m kWh	1,0 %	14,0 %	3.09 kWh	4,016.64 kWh
Total production capacity	704.30 m kWh	-	100,0 %	308.71 kWh	28,690.27 kWh
Actual total production	510.00 m kWh	72.4 %	43.0 %	223.54 kWh	12,338.29 kWh

Note: The sum of each data in this table adds up to 101.00 percent and may not be accurate. Worlddata.info receives this data from the US Office of Public Affairs (CIA) and will not make any presumptuous changes to it.

Usage of renewable energies

Renewable energy includes wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy sources. This means all energy sources that renew themselves within a short time or are permanently available. Energy from hydropower is only partly a renewable energy. This is certainly the case with river or tidal power plants. Otherwise, numerous dams or reservoirs also produce mixed forms, e.g. by pumping water into their reservoirs at night and recovering energy from them during the day when there is an increased demand for electricity. Since it is not possible to clearly determine the amount of generated energy, all energy from hydropower is displayed separately.

In 2019, renewable energy accounted for around 39.5 percent of actual total consumption in Lesotho. The following chart shows the percentage share from 1990 to 2019:

Greenhouse gases emissions by countryMethane and CO₂ are the main greenhouse gases. This list names the biggest polluters by country.

Global warming by continentsAvg. temperatures from 1950 to 2023. Increased in Europe and North America - Antarctic colder again.

Infected and deaths by the corona virus (COVID 19)

Spread of the Corona virus Covid19 (SARS-CoV-2)Worldwide development of the number of cases and deaths due to the corona virus.