Lesotho: crime and justice
3 answers, 3 from Lesotho's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
What is the crime rate in Lesotho?
11,939 serious crimes were reported in Lesotho in 2022, according to the Crime Statistics Report 2022 of the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics. A further 16,168 general crime cases were reported.
Housebreaking made up 36.9% of serious crimes, stock theft 18.3% and sexual offences 11.6%. Maseru Urban had 29.9% of all serious cases. The report counts cases reported to the police, so it reflects reporting as well as crime. The Lesotho Mounted Police Service website showed only a maintenance page on 15 October 2026.
How many murders are there in Lesotho?
944 murders were reported in Lesotho in 2022, according to the Crime Statistics Report 2022 of the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics, along with 298 attempted murders. Murder made up 7.9% of serious crimes.
With a population of about 2.29 million in 2022, according to the World Bank, that is roughly 41 murders per 100,000 people. The most recent intentional homicide rate in the UNODC series is for 2008, when it was 38.2 per 100,000, according to the World Bank.
How many people go to prison in Lesotho?
2,637 people were received into Lesotho's correctional institutions in 2021, according to the Correctional Services Statistics Report 2021 of the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics.
Maseru Central correctional institution received 28.0% of them, and the female correctional institution 2.3%. The report counts admissions during the year, not the number of people held on a given day. It is the most recent correctional services report listed among the bureau's publications.
Official bodies in Lesotho
- Office of the Ombudsman
- Lesotho Bureau of StatisticsPublishes the consumer price index, quarterly GDP, foreign trade, the Labour Force Survey and social statistics reports on crime, education, health and vital events.
More about Lesotho
- Economy
- Jobs and pay
- Cost of living
- Public finances
- Health and care
- Housing
- Immigration
- Education
- Environment
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error