Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Burundi instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 95.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 0.8% of people as of 2024.
live 6.0 years longer
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
be 76.7% less likely to be obese
In Lesotho, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 5.2% of people as of 2024.
be 73.3% less likely to die by suicide
Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Burundi, it is 7.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 74.1% less spent on your healthcare
Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Burundi spends $100 as of 2023.
have 66.8% fewer doctors per person
Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Burundi has 0.8 as of 2022.
have 22.6% less access to essential health services
Lesotho scores 53 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Burundi scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 94.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Burundi, that number is 0.9% as of 2025.
make 78.5% less money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Burundi, the GDP per capita is $234 as of 2025.
Life
be 18.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Burundi, 392.0 women do as of 2023.
be 45.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 56.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Burundi, on the other hand, 30.5 children do as of 2024.
have 39.8% more children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Burundi, there are 33.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 17.4% less likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 90.5% as of 2024. In Burundi, it is 74.7% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 79.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Burundi, that number is 12% of people on average (65% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 83.4% less likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Burundi, about 8.6% do as of 2024.
be 15.6% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Lesotho, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 66% of people on average (91% in urban areas, and 61% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 32.0% less on education
Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Burundi spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2025.
spend 27.9% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Burundi, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 43.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Lesotho, road accidents kill 21.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Burundi, they kill 12.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 94.7% less home broadband
Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Burundi has 0.0 as of 2023.
live with 4.0 times more strain on fresh water
Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Burundi withdraws 10% as of 2022.
Environment
be 29.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Burundi, it causes 71.0 as of 2019.
emit 83.7% less CO2
Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Burundi emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Lesotho vs. Burundi
Burundi: At a glance
How big is Burundi compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.