Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 77.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Lesotho, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in Lesotho stood at 77.7%.
The figure is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 43.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Lesotho peaked at 93.4% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 23.9%, in 1981.
Lesotho ranks 1st of 198 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 35.9% | — |
| 1976 | 31.8% | -11.4% |
| 1977 | 31.0% | -2.5% |
| 1978 | 30.5% | -1.6% |
| 1979 | 28.8% | -5.7% |
| 1980 | 29.8% | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 23.9% | -19.8% |
| 1982 | 93.3% | +290.6% |
| 1983 | 93.4% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 93.1% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 93.1% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 92.7% | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 93.2% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 91.3% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 91.1% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 91.2% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 90.9% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 91.6% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 86.9% | -5.2% |
| 1994 | 89.7% | +3.2% |
| 1995 | 86.5% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 87.2% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 86.0% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 82.1% | -4.6% |
| 1999 | 84.0% | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 77.3% | -8.0% |
| 2001 | 75.6% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 74.6% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 75.6% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 74.4% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 73.6% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 72.4% | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 75.6% | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 64.1% | -15.2% |
| 2009 | 60.0% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 65.9% | +9.9% |
| 2011 | 62.9% | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 58.3% | -7.3% |
| 2013 | 59.3% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 57.5% | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 54.1% | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 70.4% | +30.1% |
| 2017 | 70.7% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 73.3% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 73.3% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 73.3% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 72.4% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 75.4% | +4.0% |
| 2023 | 74.8% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 75.2% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 77.7% | +3.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 77.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.1%, 4.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 77.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.4%, 8.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +290.6% | 23.9% | 93.3% |
| 2016 | +30.1% | 54.1% | 70.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 31.6% | 28.8% | 35.9% | 5 |
| 1980s | 79.5% | 23.9% | 93.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 87.6% | 82.1% | 91.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 72.3% | 60.0% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 64.6% | 54.1% | 73.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.8% | 72.4% | 77.7% | 6 |
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 travel services in Lesotho?
- Travel services in Lesotho was 77.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 93.4% in 1983.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.9% in 1981.
- How does Lesotho rank for travel services?
- Lesotho ranks 1st out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.