Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Lesotho instead of Kiribati, you would:
Health
be 51.3% less likely to be obese
In Kiribati, 45.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Lesotho, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
have 10.4% more access to essential health services
Kiribati scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Lesotho scores 53 as of 2021.
live 8.8 years less
In Kiribati, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Lesotho, that number is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024.
be 64.1% more likely to die by suicide
Kiribati has a suicide rate of 17.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Lesotho, it is 28.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 57.4% less money
Kiribati has a GDP per capita of $2,559 as of 2025, while in Lesotho, the GDP per capita is $1,089 as of 2025.
Life
be 6.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Kiribati, approximately 80.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Lesotho, 478.0 women do as of 2023.
be 45.1% more likely to die during infancy
In Kiribati, approximately 38.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Lesotho, on the other hand, 56.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 40.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Kiribati, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (89% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Lesotho, that number is 57% of people on average (85% in urban areas, and 45% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 42.1% less likely to have internet access
In Kiribati, approximately 89.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Lesotho, about 51.8% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 59.6% less on education
Kiribati spends 16.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Lesotho spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 15.2% more on healthcare
Kiribati spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Lesotho, that number is 12.6% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 3.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Kiribati, road accidents kill 6.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Lesotho, they kill 21.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 12.7 times more home broadband
Kiribati has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Lesotho has 0.4 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 27.1% less CO2
Kiribati emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Kiribati, air pollution causes 49.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Lesotho, it causes 100.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Kiribati vs. Lesotho
Lesotho: At a glance
How big is Lesotho compared to Kiribati? See an in-depth size comparison.