International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in Lesotho
Lesotho: International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) was 276.00 million current US$ in 2020. ◆ Volatile
International tourism, expenditures for travel items in Lesotho, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 276.00 million current US$ for international tourism, expenditures for travel items in 2020.
That represents a change of down 13.5% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures for travel items in Lesotho peaked at 342.00 million current US$ in 2018 and was at its lowest, 12.00 million current US$, in 1996.
Lesotho ranks 95th of 191 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 13.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 12.00 million current US$ | -7.7% |
| 1997 | 14.00 million current US$ | +16.7% |
| 1998 | 13.00 million current US$ | -7.1% |
| 1999 | 14.00 million current US$ | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 192.00 million current US$ | +1271.4% |
| 2001 | 163.00 million current US$ | -15.1% |
| 2002 | 162.00 million current US$ | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 238.00 million current US$ | +46.9% |
| 2004 | 271.00 million current US$ | +13.9% |
| 2005 | 262.00 million current US$ | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 260.00 million current US$ | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 268.00 million current US$ | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 243.00 million current US$ | -9.3% |
| 2009 | 239.00 million current US$ | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 270.00 million current US$ | +13.0% |
| 2011 | 290.00 million current US$ | +7.4% |
| 2012 | 245.00 million current US$ | -15.5% |
| 2013 | 206.00 million current US$ | -15.9% |
| 2014 | 170.00 million current US$ | -17.5% |
| 2015 | 174.00 million current US$ | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 258.00 million current US$ | +48.3% |
| 2017 | 303.00 million current US$ | +17.4% |
| 2018 | 342.00 million current US$ | +12.9% |
| 2019 | 319.00 million current US$ | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 276.00 million current US$ | -13.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 276.00 million current US$ is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 186.00 million current US$, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 276.00 million current US$ is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 98.25 million current US$, 2.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +1271.4% | 14.00 million current US$ | 192.00 million current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.20 million current US$ | 12.00 million current US$ | 14.00 million current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 229.80 million current US$ | 162.00 million current US$ | 271.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 257.70 million current US$ | 170.00 million current US$ | 342.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 276.00 million current US$ | 276.00 million current US$ | 276.00 million current US$ | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More private sector data for Lesotho
- Merchandise trade 102.9% (2025)
- Food imports 23.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 59.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 1.88 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 460.39 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 23.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 70.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 773.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 18.67 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 327.08 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures for travel items in Lesotho?
- International tourism, expenditures for travel items in Lesotho was 276.00 million current US$ in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures for travel items recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 342.00 million current US$ in 2018.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures for travel items recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.00 million current US$ in 1996.
- How does Lesotho rank for international tourism, expenditures for travel items?
- Lesotho ranks 95th out of 191 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures for travel items rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.