International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho
Lesotho: International tourism, expenditures was 13.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, expenditures in Lesotho stood at 13.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and up 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Lesotho peaked at 18.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1996.
Lesotho ranks 9th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.1% | — |
| 1996 | 1.1% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | +14.9% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | +20.0% |
| 2000 | 18.7% | +1115.1% |
| 2001 | 17.1% | -8.8% |
| 2002 | 17.4% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 17.9% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 16.4% | -5.8% |
| 2006 | 15.2% | -7.4% |
| 2007 | 14.7% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 12.8% | -12.6% |
| 2009 | 12.1% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 11.5% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 11.3% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | -17.9% |
| 2013 | 9.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 8.2% | -13.0% |
| 2015 | 8.9% | +9.2% |
| 2016 | 13.1% | +47.5% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 14.3% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 14.4% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 13.9% | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 5 |
| 2000s | 16.0% | 12.1% | 18.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 8.2% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.9% | 13.9% | 13.9% | 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)
- Food exports 23.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 70.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 773.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 327.08 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3004 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -22 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Lesotho?
- International tourism, expenditures in Lesotho was 13.9% in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 18.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1996.
- How does Lesotho rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Lesotho ranks 9th out of 186 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.