Travel Risk Atlas

Lesotho

Southern Africa · Capital Maseru

Level 2 United States Exercise Increased Caution FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Yellow Netherlands Yellow — pay attention Level 2 Canada Exercise a high degree of caution AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Lesotho — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

41.2 Moderate risk
Atlas Risk Score · 140th safest of 220
Maletsunyane Falls — Lesotho
Photo: BagelBelt / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Lesotho as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Berea — Travel with cautionButha-Buthe — Travel with cautionLeribe — Travel with cautionMafeteng — Travel with cautionMafeteng — Travel with cautionMaseru — Travel with cautionMohale's Hoek — Travel with cautionMokhotlong — Travel with cautionQacha's Nek — Travel with cautionQuthing — Travel with cautionThaba-Tseka — Travel with caution
What governments advise Travel with caution

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — Travel with caution. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Road & transport
10% of score
83/100
202nd of 220
Crime
15% of score
62/100
194th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
54/100
162nd of 220
Political stability
10% of score
50/100
155th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
23/100
114th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
20/100
128th of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly drought
20/100
15th of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
99/100

Biggest factor here: road & transport. Road deaths per 100,000 people - the risk travellers most underestimate.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
123
Police 123 · Ambulance 121
Currency
LSL L
Languages
English
Sotho
Visa (EU passport)
14 days visa-free
US: Visa free · UK: Visa free
Population
2.4m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Maseru
Driving
On the left
31.9 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type M
220-240V
Safely managed water
31%
Most households lack it · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+266
GDP per capita
$1k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
1.1m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Maseru, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around September to April.

Daytime high mild warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Lesotho:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.