International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in Lesotho
Lesotho: International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) was 5.00 million current US$ in 2020. ▼ Falling
International tourism, receipts 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$.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, receipts for travel items in Lesotho is 5.00 million current US$, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 76.2% on the previous year and down 78.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, receipts for travel items in Lesotho peaked at 48.00 million current US$ in 2016 and was at its lowest, 5.00 million current US$, in 2020.
That places Lesotho 184th out of 191 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 27.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 32.00 million current US$ | +18.5% |
| 1997 | 32.00 million current US$ | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 24.00 million current US$ | -25.0% |
| 1999 | 23.00 million current US$ | -4.2% |
| 2000 | 18.00 million current US$ | -21.7% |
| 2001 | 16.00 million current US$ | -11.1% |
| 2002 | 14.00 million current US$ | -12.5% |
| 2003 | 21.00 million current US$ | +50.0% |
| 2004 | 26.00 million current US$ | +23.8% |
| 2005 | 27.00 million current US$ | +3.8% |
| 2006 | 29.00 million current US$ | +7.4% |
| 2007 | 31.00 million current US$ | +6.9% |
| 2008 | 30.00 million current US$ | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 30.00 million current US$ | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 23.00 million current US$ | -23.3% |
| 2011 | 24.00 million current US$ | +4.3% |
| 2012 | 22.00 million current US$ | -8.3% |
| 2013 | 17.00 million current US$ | -22.7% |
| 2014 | 16.00 million current US$ | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 34.00 million current US$ | +112.5% |
| 2016 | 48.00 million current US$ | +41.2% |
| 2017 | 23.00 million current US$ | -52.1% |
| 2018 | 24.00 million current US$ | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 21.00 million current US$ | -12.5% |
| 2020 | 5.00 million current US$ | -76.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 5.00 million current US$ is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 191.00 million current US$, 3% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 5.00 million current US$ is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 116.00 million current US$, 4% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +112.5% | 16.00 million current US$ | 34.00 million current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.60 million current US$ | 23.00 million current US$ | 32.00 million current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 24.20 million current US$ | 14.00 million current US$ | 31.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.20 million current US$ | 16.00 million current US$ | 48.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.00 million current US$ | 5.00 million current US$ | 5.00 million current US$ | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 181 Tajikistan 6.40 million current US$ compare
- 182 Solomon Islands 6.00 million current US$ compare
- 183 Mauritania 5.50 million current US$ compare
- 185 Burundi 3.90 million current US$ compare
- 186 Papua New Guinea 3.46 million current US$ compare
- 187 Liberia 1.90 million current US$ compare
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, receipts for travel items in Lesotho?
- International tourism, receipts for travel items in Lesotho was 5.00 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, receipts for travel items recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 48.00 million current US$ in 2016.
- What is the lowest international tourism, receipts for travel items recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.00 million current US$ in 2020.
- How does Lesotho rank for international tourism, receipts for travel items?
- Lesotho ranks 184th out of 191 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, receipts for travel items rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 78.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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, receipts for travel items (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. 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 receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from 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.