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Science in Lesotho

Lesotho ranks #164 of 189 countries on research quality in 2022-now (#158 all time), with 516 research works and 7.0% of them in the world's top 10%.

World rank, 2022-now
#164
of 189 · #158 all time
Works, 2022-now
516
▲ 52% vs 2018-21
Citations
15k
8.1 per fractional work, all time
Top-10% rate
7.0%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.85×
1.00× is exactly expected
In the world top 100
0
0 in the top 1,000
Open access
56%
world 40%
International
26%
world 18%
Lesotho

Which fields of science does Lesotho work in?

In 2022-now, 60% of research in Lesotho is in Social Sciences, 14% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (38%), Medicine (9%), Agricultural and Biological Sciences (8%). It does 2.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 353 fractional works · 60.5% of its workSocial Sciences: 219 fractional works · 37.6% of its workEducation: 75 fractional works · 12.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 47 fractional works · 8.0% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 19 fractional works · 3.2% of its workSafety Research: 16 fractional works · 2.8% of its workAnthropology: 11 fractional works · 1.8% of its workGender Studies: 10 fractional works · 1.7% of its workLaw: 10 fractional works · 1.7% of its workLinguistics and Language: 9 fractional works · 1.5% of its workDemography: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCommunication: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDevelopment: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workUrban Studies: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArcheology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workTransportation: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 41 fractional works · 6.9% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 30 fractional works · 5.2% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workFinance: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPsychology: 30 fractional works · 5.1% of its workClinical Psychology: 10 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSocial Psychology: 7 fractional works · 1.2% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 6 fractional works · 1.0% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workApplied Psychology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 28 fractional works · 4.8% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 13 fractional works · 2.2% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 11 fractional works · 1.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 27 fractional works · 4.7% of its workStrategy and Management: 7 fractional works · 1.2% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workAccounting: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBusiness and International Management: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement Information Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workDecision Sciences: 8 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 83 fractional works · 14.1% of its workMedicine: 54 fractional works · 9.2% of its workInfectious Diseases: 11 fractional works · 1.9% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 10 fractional works · 1.7% of its workEpidemiology: 6 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 6 fractional works · 1.1% of its workOncology: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth Informatics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEmergency Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 1.2% of its workHealth Professions: 20 fractional works · 3.4% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 17 fractional works · 2.9% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workVeterinary: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmall Animals: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workPhysical Sciences: 81 fractional works · 13.9% of its workEnvironmental Science: 27 fractional works · 4.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workPollution: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEcology: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workWater Science and Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 24 fractional works · 4.1% of its workInformation Systems: 14 fractional works · 2.3% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputer Science Applications: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEngineering: 11 fractional works · 1.9% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 6 fractional works · 1.0% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomaterials: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workModeling and Simulation: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 67 fractional works · 11.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 49 fractional works · 8.4% of its workPlant Science: 14 fractional works · 2.4% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 8 fractional works · 1.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 7 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSoil Science: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workFood Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInsect Science: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 10 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGenetics: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMolecular Biology: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workVirology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workParasitology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workALL ITS WORKLesotho584fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences11%Physical Sciences14%Health Sciences14%Social Sciences60%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this country does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences21937.6%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance416.9%
    3. Psychology305.1%
    4. Arts and Humanities284.8%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting274.7%
    6. Decision Sciences81.3%
    1. Medicine549.2%
    2. Health Professions203.4%
    3. Nursing40.8%
    4. Veterinary40.7%
    5. Dentistry00.0%
    1. Environmental Science274.6%
    2. Computer Science244.1%
    3. Engineering111.9%
    4. Physics and Astronomy61.0%
    5. Materials Science40.7%
    6. Mathematics40.6%
    7. Energy30.5%
    8. Earth and Planetary Sciences30.4%
    9. Chemistry10.2%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences498.4%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology101.6%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology40.7%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics20.4%
    5. Neuroscience20.3%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

Which keywords describe research in Lesotho?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Colonialism, Globalization, Human Rights, Higher Education, Poverty Reduction, Nationalism, Technology Integration and Gender Equality.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this country's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Globalization35▲ 3.1×43 topics
  2. Human Rights27▲ 4.5×33 topics
  3. Colonialism25▲ 9.1×11 topics
  4. Education23▲ 2.3×29 topics
  5. Mental Health21▲ 2.6×19 topics
  6. Higher Education20▲ 6.5×12 topics
  7. Economic Growth18▲ 3.9×16 topics
  8. Poverty Reduction18▲ 24×5 topics
  9. Nationalism18▲ 6.9×6 topics
  10. Social Justice16▲ 4.5×19 topics
  11. Technology Integration14▲ 7.9×6 topics
  12. Social Capital14▲ 4.7×12 topics
  13. Development14▲ 6.6×13 topics
  14. Teacher Training14▲ 3.8×10 topics
  15. Gender Equality13▲ 8.0×10 topics
  16. Political Economy13▲ 8.6×9 topics
  17. Social Impact12▲ 5.5×6 topics
  18. Gender Inequality12▲ 15×5 topics
  19. Multilingualism12▲ 12×3 topics
  20. Bilingual Education11▲ 17×2 topics
  21. Language Policy11▲ 14×2 topics
  22. Reflective Practice11▲ 10×5 topics
  23. Professional Development11▲ 9.2×8 topics
  24. Teacher Professional Development11▲ 11×4 topics
  25. Student Perceptions11▲ 10×7 topics
  26. Governance10▲ 5.3×8 topics
  27. Conditional Cash Transfers10▲ 48×1 topic
  28. School Subsidies10▲ 48×1 topic
  29. Sociolinguistics10▲ 9.3×3 topics
  30. Lifelong Learning10▲ 7.9×7 topics
  31. South Africa9▲ 56×4 topics
  32. Judicial Review9▲ 18×2 topics
  33. Inequality9▲ 6.6×4 topics
  34. Antiretroviral Therapy8▲ 8.9×6 topics
  35. Environmental Governance8▲ 21×4 topics
  36. Land Reform8▲ 30×2 topics
  37. Equality8▲ 24×4 topics
  38. Legal Research8▲ 12×2 topics
  39. Consumer Protection8▲ 31×2 topics
  40. Public Participation8▲ 61×2 topics

Which research topics does Lesotho publish the most in?

Its largest topics in 2022-now are Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare, Legal Issues in South Africa, African studies and sociopolitical issues.

Poverty, Education, and …10Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare: 10 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Af…8Legal Issues in South Africa: 8 fractional worksAfrican studies and sociopolitical issues: 8 fractional worksTeacher Education and Leadership Studies: 8 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 7 fractional worksEducation Systems and Policy: 7 fractional worksMultilingual Education and Policy: 6 fractional worksAgricultural Innovations and Practices: 5 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 5 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Child Health: 5 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 5 fractional worksGlobal Educational Policies and Reforms: 5 fractional works
Safety ResearchLawSociology and Political ScienceEducation7 others

Area is fractional works in 2022-now; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to. Every tile is a topic page.

  1. 1 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 10 works
  2. 2 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 8 works
  3. 3 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  4. 4 Teacher Education and Leadership Studies Education 8 works
  5. 5 African history and culture studies Anthropology 7 works
  6. 6 Education Systems and Policy Education 7 works
  7. 7 Multilingual Education and Policy Linguistics and Language 6 works
  8. 8 Agricultural Innovations and Practices General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 5 works
  9. 9 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 5 works
  10. 10 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 5 works
  11. 11 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 5 works
  12. 12 Global Educational Policies and Reforms Political Science and International Relations 5 works

Which universities in Lesotho lead research?

National University of Lesotho rank highest in Lesotho on research quality in 2022-now.

  1. 1National University of LesothoUniversity · Maseru · #7,115 worldwide6.7% top 10% · 482 works

The track on each row is its top-10% rate; the tick is the average of all institutions, 10.0% (how it is set): teal above it, red below.

All ranked institutions in Lesotho

Who are the top researchers in Lesotho?

Rethabile Rosemary Molefi, John Batani and Lucy Nthabiseng Makoae rank highest among researchers based in Lesotho.

  1. 1 Rethabile Rosemary Molefi #560,261 worldwide 518 citations · 24 works
  2. 2 John Batani #1,060,934 worldwide 1.2k citations · 55 works
  3. 3 Lucy Nthabiseng Makoae #1,254,679 worldwide 1.6k citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Makhulu Alice Makumane #1,641,636 worldwide 171 citations · 27 works
  5. 5 Ramaele Moshoeshoe #2,029,182 worldwide 69 citations · 18 works
  6. 6 Tsietso Mots’oane #2,042,931 worldwide 245 citations · 17 works
  7. 7 Victor Ntuli #2,135,427 worldwide 2.2k citations · 43 works
  8. 8 Peter P. Khaola #2,284,658 worldwide 467 citations · 31 works
  9. 9 Paseka Andrew Mosia #2,405,238 worldwide 196 citations · 21 works
  10. 10 Lehlohonolo Kurata #2,447,461 worldwide 140 citations · 22 works
Top researchers in Lesotho

How open and international is Lesotho's research?

56% of its research is openly available (world: 40%), and 26% is written with international co-authors (world: 18%).

openly available56.4%not open43.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors26.4%domestic only73.6%

World: 18% is written across borders.

In 2022-now, 72% of its research is openly available (world 63%) and 35% is written with co-authors abroad (world 22%). Against what its own mix of topics predicts, that is 1.03× the expected open access and 1.35× the expected international share, which puts it #135 of 173 countries on openness.

How has Lesotho's research grown?

Output in 2022-2025 was 52% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Lesotho as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0024% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%0.0030%Lesotho0.0022% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Lesotho over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Over the whole record, 6.8% of its 1.9k works since 1961 reached the world top 10% for their field and year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Lesotho7.0% in 202520102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 19.2% in 2008.

Which countries have research most like Lesotho's?

Kenya is Lesotho's closest research twin: of all countries, its research is spread across the fields most like Lesotho's, with both strong in Economics, Econometrics and Finance.

  1. 1 KenyaBoth strong in Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Social Sciences 0.82 Compare
  2. 2 ZimbabweBoth strong in Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Social Sciences, Agricultural and Biological Sciences 0.80 Compare
  3. 3 Sierra LeoneBoth strong in Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Social Sciences 0.80 Compare
  4. 4 Cape VerdeBoth strong in Social Sciences, Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Agricultural and Biological Sciences 0.80 Compare
  5. 5 GhanaBoth strong in Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Nursing 0.79 Compare

Similarity is the correlation of each side's location quotients across every field it publishes in, on a log scale: 1 is the same shape of research, 0 is unrelated. It ignores size. How it is measured.

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Lesotho on Science Explorer

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Research fields in Lesotho

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