Merchandise trade in Lesotho
Lesotho: Merchandise trade was 102.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Lesotho, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 102.9% for merchandise trade in 2025.
That represents a change of down 13.5% on the previous year and down 17.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Lesotho peaked at 160.9% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 55.3%, in 1970.
That places Lesotho 23rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 60.7% | — |
| 1961 | 67.2% | +10.7% |
| 1962 | 59.7% | -11.2% |
| 1963 | 57.4% | -3.9% |
| 1964 | 57.8% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 58.3% | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 67.0% | +14.9% |
| 1967 | 65.8% | -1.8% |
| 1968 | 61.8% | -6.0% |
| 1969 | 60.6% | -2.0% |
| 1970 | 55.3% | -8.8% |
| 1971 | 56.2% | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 79.1% | +40.7% |
| 1973 | 83.3% | +5.4% |
| 1974 | 88.8% | +6.6% |
| 1975 | 117.7% | +32.5% |
| 1976 | 155.1% | +31.8% |
| 1977 | 128.3% | -17.3% |
| 1978 | 117.4% | -8.5% |
| 1979 | 128.6% | +9.5% |
| 1980 | 121.0% | -5.9% |
| 1981 | 130.4% | +7.8% |
| 1982 | 160.9% | +23.4% |
| 1983 | 133.4% | -17.0% |
| 1984 | 141.1% | +5.7% |
| 1985 | 136.2% | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 119.2% | -12.5% |
| 1987 | 128.1% | +7.5% |
| 1988 | 138.4% | +8.0% |
| 1989 | 137.9% | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 123.1% | -10.7% |
| 1991 | 124.9% | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 121.3% | -2.9% |
| 1993 | 120.0% | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 116.4% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 126.5% | +8.7% |
| 1996 | 138.8% | +9.7% |
| 1997 | 133.9% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 122.2% | -8.7% |
| 1999 | 113.7% | -7.0% |
| 2000 | 116.0% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 123.9% | +6.8% |
| 2002 | 151.2% | +22.0% |
| 2003 | 137.9% | -8.8% |
| 2004 | 142.1% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 122.5% | -13.8% |
| 2006 | 123.2% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 152.7% | +23.9% |
| 2008 | 151.9% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 148.4% | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 142.2% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 142.4% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 144.2% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 127.7% | -11.5% |
| 2014 | 124.2% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 124.0% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 129.7% | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 134.1% | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 133.2% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 111.0% | -16.7% |
| 2020 | 108.3% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 114.4% | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 116.8% | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 119.7% | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 118.9% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 102.9% | -13.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 61.6% | 57.4% | 67.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 101.0% | 55.3% | 155.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 134.6% | 119.2% | 160.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 124.1% | 113.7% | 138.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 137.0% | 116.0% | 152.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 131.3% | 111.0% | 144.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 113.5% | 102.9% | 119.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More private sector data for Lesotho
- 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$), annual growth rate -22 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 793.38 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Lesotho?
- Merchandise trade in Lesotho was 102.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 160.9% in 1982.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.3% in 1970.
- How does Lesotho rank for merchandise trade?
- Lesotho ranks 23rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.