By Nicole Tau.
A viral TikTok video falsely claims that Lesotho, a southern African nation, has only “500 to 600 men” compared to 1.2 million women, and that the government is advertising for men to marry its women. Official population data, government records, and local demographic statistics prove this claim is false.
The video, shared by a TikTok user on 3 September 2025, suggests Lesotho has a drastically skewed gender ratio and is actively seeking foreign men to “marry Basotho women.” It further attempts to sensationalize the country by mentioning its cold climate and snowfall.
To fact-check this claim, CheckDesk reviewed the Bureau of Statistics Lesotho Population Projections Report 2016 – 2036.
According to the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics’ (BoS) Population Projections Report 2016 – 2036, Medium Variant projection for 2025 (p.11), the country’s population is expected to be about 2.13 million people, comprising approximately 1,047,320 men and 1,081,517 women. This is a normal distribution, with men making up around 49% of the population and women about 51%, fully consistent with global averages.
This clearly disproves the viral claim that Lesotho has only 600 men.
Government Spokesperson Thabo Sekonyela also dismissed the viral claim in strong terms, saying:
“It is not the business of the government to tell people whom to marry… we do not have a crisis of shortage of men. The marriage between two people is a private matter, it would not involve the government. The claim is rubbish. I don’t know what simpleton who put out that claim. I don’t know how that simpleton thinks of the government. We respect the people that have trusted us to run this country. It is regrettable that there are people who have time for things like that (disinformation) when we have so many pressing issues as a nation. It is an extreme case of small mindedness.”
The claim misrepresents Lesotho’s demographics and spreads harmful stereotypes about Basotho women. It risks turning a serious social issue, gender equality, into a punchline, while misleading people about the country’s identity and policies.
Misinformation like this also undermines trust in official statistics and creates space for further sensational narratives about African countries.
The claim that Lesotho has “500–600 men” and is “advertising for husbands” is entirely false. The country has a normal demographic balance, and no such government program exists.
This fact-check was produced by Nicole Tau, CheckDesk, MISA Lesotho, as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with MISA Lesotho. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/
