Economy - overview:
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa, customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), and export revenue for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as an apparel-assembly sector. Despite Lesotho's market-based economy being heavily tied to its neighbor South Africa, the US is an important trade partner because of the export sector's heavy dependence on apparel exports. Exports have grown significantly because of the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Economic growth dropped in 2009, due mainly to the effects of the global economic crisis as demand for the country's exports declined and SACU revenue fell precipitously when South Africa - the primary contributor to the SACU revenue pool - went into recession, but growth returned to 3.5% in 2010.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Oil - proved reserves: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Exchange rates:
NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 2011 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho Economy 2011 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho Economy 2011 should be addressed to the CIA.
$3.31 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 174
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
$1.799 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
3.5% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$1,700 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 198
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 7.1%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
34.6%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services:
58.2% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
854,600 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry and services:
14% (2002 est.)
45% (2002)
country comparison to the world: 190
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
49% (1999)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 1%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
39.4% (2003)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
63.2 (1995)
country comparison to the world: 3
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
21.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $968.4 million
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$1.193 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
6.1% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
10.66% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 24
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
13% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$653.3 million (31 December 2010 est)
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$1.057 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$177.7 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
502 million kWh
country comparison to the world: 160
note:
electricity supplied by South Africa (2007 est.)
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
516.9 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
50 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
2,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
1,553 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
[see also: Oil - proved reserves country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$125 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$985 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals
US 58.9%, Belgium 37%, Madagascar 1.2% (2008)
$1.766 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
China 26.3%, Taiwan 20.1%, Hong Kong 16.4%, South Korea 14.1%, India 9.2% (2008)
$893 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$647 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
maloti (LSL) per US dollar - 7.9 (2010), 8.4737 (2009), 7.75 (2008), 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006)
This page was last modified 09-Feb-11