AFRICA · COUNTRY REFERENCE
Lesotho
Written and compiled by American Business Capital Group Inc.
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ANNUAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Population & economic scale
The most recent non-empty observations returned by the World Bank when this snapshot was collected. Read the year on each card: these are annual statistics, not live measurements.
World Bank reporting entity: Lesotho · 3 of 3 indicators available.
Population
2,363,325
people
observation
Definition, value & source
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
Received value: 2363325 people. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
GDP
$2.57 billion
current US$
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 2573572920.05159 current US$. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP per capita
$1,089
current US$ per person
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 1088.96276223185 current US$ per person. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP and GDP per capita use current US dollars, without an inflation or purchasing-power-parity adjustment. Source years can differ. Missing data is not zero; earlier archive figures below are retained as a separate historical reference.
THE REFERENCE FILE
Lesotho at a glance
These are historical reference facts from the 2025 World Factbook archive. Each estimate keeps its own period; an archive edition does not make every figure a measurement from that year.
Population
total: 2,222,962 (2025 est.) male: 1,099,314 female: 1,123,648
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$6.166 billion (2024 est.) $6 billion (2023 est.) $5.893 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$2.272 billion (2024 est.) note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
Real GDP growth rate
2.8% (2024 est.) 1.8% (2023 est.) 2.4% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per capita
$2,600 (2024 est.) $2,600 (2023 est.) $2,600 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.1% (2024 est.) 6.3% (2023 est.) 8.3% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Unemployment rate
16.2% (2024 est.) 16.5% (2023 est.) 16.7% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Labor force
884,200 (2024 est.) note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
Public debt
3% of GDP (2020 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP
Budget
revenues: $1.13 billion (2022 est.) expenditures: $1.256 billion (2022 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
Current account balance
$84.393 million (2024 est.) -$151.577 million (2023 est.) -$268.876 million (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exports
$983.027 million (2024 est.) $885.789 million (2023 est.) $1.07 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Imports
$2.083 billion (2024 est.) $2.077 billion (2023 est.) $2.247 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.008 billion (2024 est.) $854.089 million (2023 est.) $771.278 million (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Debt - external
$928.019 million (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 50% (2022 est.) electrification - urban areas: 83.6% electrification - rural areas: 37.7%
Internet users
percent of population: 48% (2023 est.)
THE HISTORICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
Explore the country in detail
Browse the economy, population, resources and infrastructure. These archived descriptions keep their original wording and dates; they have not been updated to describe current conditions.
29 of 29 sections
Location
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Capital
name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name means "[place of] red sandstones" in the Sesotho language
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Economic overview
lower middle-income economy surrounded by South Africa; environmentally fragile and politically unstable; key infrastructure and renewable energy investments; dire poverty; urban job and income losses due to COVID-19; systemic corruption
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural resources
water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Agricultural products
milk, potatoes, maize, vegetables, fruits, sorghum, wheat, game meat, beans, wool (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Industries
food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - partners
South Africa 31%, Belgium 26%, USA 20%, UAE 8%, India 8% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - commodities
diamonds, garments, wool, power equipment, bedding (2023) note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - partners
South Africa 78%, China 10%, Taiwan 3%, Japan 1%, India 1% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - commodities
refined petroleum, fabric, trucks, garments, cotton fabric (2023) note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Climate
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Terrain
mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Land use
agricultural land: 77.8% (2023 est.) arable land: 11.8% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.) permanent pasture: 65.9% (2023 est.) forest: 1.1% (2023 est.) other: 21.1% (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural hazards
periodic droughts
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Languages
Sesotho (official), English (official), Phuthi, Xhosa, Zulu
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Religions
Protestant 47.8% (Pentecostal 23.1%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 7.4%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, other Christian 9.1%, non-Christian 1.4%, none 2.3% (2014 est.)
2014 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Age structure
0-14 years: 32% (male 358,137/female 353,618) 15-64 years: 62.7% (male 699,197/female 696,626) 65 years and over: 5.4% (2024 est.) (male 44,625/female 75,345)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Urbanization
urban population: 30.4% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2023, 2020 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 60.2 years (2024 est.) male: 58.1 years female: 62.3 years
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Literacy
total population: 90.4% (2024 est.) male: 83.2% (2024 est.) female: 96.6% (2024 est.)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity
installed generating capacity: 104,000 kW (2023 est.) consumption: 833.009 million kWh (2023 est.) imports: 453.992 million kWh (2023 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 102.88 million kWh (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) hydroelectricity: 99.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Petroleum
refined petroleum consumption: 7,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Carbon dioxide emissions
1.148 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from coal and metallurgical coke: 175,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 973,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 1.64 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 70 (2024 est.)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 9,000 (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2023 est.) less than 1
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Airports
34 (2025)
2025 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 6.5% (2024 est.) industry: 31% (2024 est.) services: 48% (2024 est.) note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Remittances
22% of GDP (2024 est.) 22.9% of GDP (2023 est.) 22.6% of GDP (2022 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
2024, 2023, 2022 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
CURRENCY OBSERVATIONS
Money & exchange rates
The latest verified daily references are separate from the historical country profile. Values are currency units per US$1.
Loti
LSL per US$1
Published reference snapshot; its original observation date is preserved.
1 LSL = US$0.06047192
15.9876–16.6706 LSL per US$1 across the displayed observations. The vertical scale follows this range.
View dated observations
| Observation date | LSL per US$1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 16.5366 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 16.6547 |
| Oct 4, 2026 | 16.6706 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 16.6073 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 16.5018 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.3804 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 16.3964 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 16.375 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 16.299 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 16.3275 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 16.4136 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 16.2826 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 16.2501 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 16.2624 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 16.2937 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 16.3259 |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 16.3244 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 16.2566 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 16.2682 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 16.2307 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | 16.1265 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 16.1062 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 16.0855 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 16.0196 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | 16.012 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | 15.9876 |
Rand
ZAR per US$1
Published reference snapshot; its original observation date is preserved.
1 ZAR = US$0.06031436
15.9603–16.643 ZAR per US$1 across the displayed observations. The vertical scale follows this range.
View dated observations
| Observation date | ZAR per US$1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 16.5798 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 16.6394 |
| Oct 4, 2026 | 16.643 |
| Oct 3, 2026 | 16.6316 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 16.613 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 16.4744 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.3715 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 16.3855 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 16.3441 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 16.3162 |
| Sep 26, 2026 | 16.3208 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 16.3273 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 16.362 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 16.2602 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 16.219 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 16.2314 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 16.2409 |
| Sep 19, 2026 | 16.2402 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 16.2412 |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 16.2491 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 16.2394 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 16.2499 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 16.1866 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | 16.1205 |
| Sep 12, 2026 | 16.1183 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 16.1133 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 16.0687 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 16.0015 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | 15.9889 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | 15.9603 |
Daily references are not live execution prices. A check time does not change a source observation date.
CAPITAL MARKETS
Stock exchanges
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Official data & country reports
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SOURCES & DATES
Where the facts come from.
Editorial presentation by American Business Capital Group Inc. The organizations and archive links below are the underlying sources.
- Country reference
- CIA World Factbook · 2025 archive
- Archive retrieved
- Oct 6, 2026 · retrieval date, not an observation period
- Currency associations
- SIX / ISO 4217 currency registry ↗
- Rate observations
- Frankfurter / official reference providers ↗ · each observation is dated separately
- State classification
- UN member states ↗ · UN observer states ↗
- UN membership is shown separately from territory and currency coverage; inclusion is not a position on sovereignty or boundaries.
- CIA World Factbook text preserved by World Factbook Archive. Archive edition 2025; individual estimates retain their own dates. These are historical reference facts, not current observations.
About the editions. The CIA announced the end of its online World Factbook on February 4, 2026. Our historical profiles retain the archive editions shown above.
Skyhorse lists The CIA World Factbook 2026–2027, published April 7, 2026 (ISBN 9781510786042). That book’s full text has not been incorporated here; its edition title does not redate the imported archive. Archive distribution license.
Geography is a simplified reference. Displayed boundaries and entity inclusion do not express a position on sovereignty or disputed borders.