Lesotho economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
How large the Lesotho economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Lesotho economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person
Lesotho's GDP was US$2.6 billion in 2025, after real growth of 2.0%.
GDP
Current US dollars.
Real GDP growth
Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.
GDP per person
Current US dollars.
Source: World Bank, 2025. Method
Who invests in Lesotho and in what
Direct investment by investing country
South Africa was the largest investing country in Lesotho, at 89% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.
Inward direct investment positions in Lesotho at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 8 largest investing countries.
The IMF data holds no positions reported by Lesotho itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.
Source: IMF, 2024. Method
What Lesotho sells and buys
Pearls, precious stones and metals was 24% of exports in 2024.
Lesotho sold the most to South Africa, 58% of exports in 2024.
Exports by product, 2024
Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
Top buyers, 2024
Share of Lesotho's exports.
Top suppliers, 2024
Share of Lesotho's imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
What Lesotho buys, 2024
The 8 largest product chapters in imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
Trade balance of goods
Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method
Remittances against foreign direct investment in Lesotho
Remittances to Lesotho were 16.0 times foreign direct investment in 2025.
Foreign direct investment net inflows were negative in 2019, 2021 and 2022: more investment left Lesotho than came in.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Remittances and investment as a share of GDP
The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Who Lesotho owes
External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.
Multilateral creditors held 45% of Lesotho's external debt stock in 2024.
Public external debt owed to China was US$182 million in 2024, 10% of the external debt stock.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Reserves and months of import cover
Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Aid received by Lesotho
Net official development assistance and official aid received.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Where Lesotho ranks in Africa
Its place among the 54 African countries on each of our Africa rankings. Each tile opens the full ranking with its source.
- GDP per person36th of 53$1,170, 2025Richest countries in Africa
- Size of the economy49th of 53$2.77 billion, 2025Largest economies in Africa
- Population43rd of 532.36 million, 2025African countries by population
- Area43rd of 5430,360 sq kmLargest countries in Africa
- Life expectancy50th of 5457.8 years, 2024Life expectancy in Africa
- US travel advisory34th of 54Level 2, increased cautionSafest countries in Africa
More on Lesotho
- Lesotho government directory
- Inflation and unemployment in Lesotho
- Lesotho debt: debt to GDP and largest creditors
- Who invests in Africa: the largest foreign investors in every country
- Natural resources in Lesotho: oil, gas and minerals
- Southern Africa: Lesotho and its neighbours compared
- African economies compared: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
World Bank data pages for Lesotho: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.
Cite this
PollsAfrica (2026). Lesotho economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances. Retrieved 10 Oct 2026 from https://pollsafrica.com/economy/lesotho