Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho
Lesotho: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 58.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho, 2000–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho is 58.7%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 6.1% on the previous year and up 194.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho peaked at 79.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 2004.
That places Lesotho 119th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 37.0% | — |
| 2001 | 37.9% | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 58.7% | +54.7% |
| 2003 | 79.0% | +34.6% |
| 2004 | 13.7% | -82.6% |
| 2005 | 56.5% | +312.6% |
| 2006 | 78.9% | +39.6% |
| 2007 | 53.3% | -32.5% |
| 2008 | 59.0% | +10.6% |
| 2009 | 48.3% | -18.0% |
| 2010 | 21.8% | -55.0% |
| 2011 | 50.3% | +131.3% |
| 2012 | 48.7% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 20.0% | -59.0% |
| 2014 | 76.8% | +284.7% |
| 2015 | 68.0% | -11.5% |
| 2016 | 43.0% | -36.7% |
| 2017 | 65.5% | +52.3% |
| 2018 | 58.9% | -10.1% |
| 2019 | 54.3% | -7.9% |
| 2020 | 54.8% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 57.4% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 55.3% | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 58.7% | +6.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 58.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 51.0%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 58.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 49.5%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to high-income economies 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +312.6% | 13.7% | 56.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.2% | 13.7% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.7% | 20.0% | 76.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.5% | 54.8% | 58.7% | 4 |
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 merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Lesotho was 58.7% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 79.0% in 2003.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 2004.
- How does Lesotho rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Lesotho ranks 119th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 194.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.