Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Lesotho instead of Republic of the Congo, you would:
Health
see 84.6% more spent on your healthcare
Republic of the Congo spends $209 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Lesotho spends $386 as of 2023.
have 35.8% more doctors per person
Republic of the Congo has 1.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Lesotho has 2.4 as of 2022.
have 29.3% more access to essential health services
Republic of the Congo scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Lesotho scores 53 as of 2021.
be 5.3 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Republic of the Congo, 3.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Lesotho, that number is 17.1% of people as of 2024.
live 8.2 years less
In Republic of the Congo, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 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 82.1% more likely to be obese
In Republic of the Congo, 12.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Lesotho, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
be 4.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Republic of the Congo has a suicide rate of 6.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Lesotho, it is 28.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 17.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Republic of the Congo, 19.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Lesotho, that number is 16.3% as of 2025.
make 56.7% less money
Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of $2,515 as of 2025, while in Lesotho, the GDP per capita is $1,089 as of 2025.
Life
be 12.2% more likely to be literate
In Republic of the Congo, the literacy rate is 80.6% as of 2021. In Lesotho, it is 90.5% as of 2024.
be 98.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 241.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Lesotho, 478.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 27.0 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.
have 21.9% fewer children
In Republic of the Congo, there are approximately 30.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Lesotho, there are 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.7% more likely to have access to electricity
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 51% of people have electricity access (69% in urban areas, and 11% 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.
Expenditures
spend 98.2% more on education
Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Lesotho spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 3.8 times more on healthcare
Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Lesotho, that number is 12.6% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 2.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Republic of the Congo, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Lesotho, they kill 21.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 70.1% less home broadband
Republic of the Congo has 1.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Lesotho has 0.4 as of 2024.
live with 85.7 times more strain on fresh water
Republic of the Congo withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Lesotho withdraws 3% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 67.9% less CO2
Republic of the Congo emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes as of 2024.
be 51.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Republic of the Congo, air pollution causes 66.0 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), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Republic of the Congo vs. Lesotho
MORE COMPARISONS
Lesotho: At a glance
How big is Lesotho compared to Republic of the Congo? See an in-depth size comparison.