Lesotho

Compare Lesotho →

LS · LSO · BACI 426 · latest data 2024

Exports

$1.1B USD, nominal · 2024

= $1,065 M6.5% over 5 yrs (down)

Imports

$1.9B USD, nominal · 2024

= $1,876 M9.0% over 5 yrs (up)

Trade balancedeficit

−$811M USD, nominal · 2024

= −$811 M

Total trade

$2.9B USD, nominal · 2024

= $2,942 M2.8% over 5 yrs (up)

World position: #156 of 225 exporters · bottom half · #164 of 225 importers · bottom half · 2024

Trade timeline

Lesotho's exports grew from $176M in 2000 to $1.1B in 2024; the 2024 balance was −$811M.

Loading trade timeline…

View timeline table

Exports, imports, trade balance and total trade of Lesotho per year, USD millions.
Year	Exports ($M)	Imports ($M)	Balance ($M)	Total ($M)
2000	$176 M	$342 M	−$167 M	$518 M
2001	$442 M	$561 M	−$119 M	$1,003 M
2002	$577 M	$713 M	−$136 M	$1,289 M
2003	$844 M	$1,092 M	−$247 M	$1,936 M
2004	$1,020 M	$1,062 M	−$42 M	$2,082 M
2005	$627 M	$825 M	−$197 M	$1,452 M
2006	$726 M	$1,000 M	−$274 M	$1,726 M
2007	$969 M	$1,083 M	−$114 M	$2,052 M
2008	$900 M	$1,007 M	−$107 M	$1,908 M
2009	$779 M	$1,095 M	−$316 M	$1,875 M
2010	$800 M	$1,299 M	−$499 M	$2,099 M
2011	$1,134 M	$1,458 M	−$323 M	$2,592 M
2012	$981 M	$1,595 M	−$614 M	$2,576 M
2013	$911 M	$1,740 M	−$828 M	$2,651 M
2014	$1,423 M	$1,602 M	−$179 M	$3,025 M
2015	$1,140 M	$1,485 M	−$345 M	$2,625 M
2016	$950 M	$1,457 M	−$508 M	$2,407 M
2017	$1,205 M	$1,506 M	−$301 M	$2,711 M
2018	$1,013 M	$1,574 M	−$561 M	$2,587 M
2019	$1,140 M	$1,721 M	−$581 M	$2,861 M
2020	$968 M	$1,317 M	−$350 M	$2,285 M
2021	$1,092 M	$1,690 M	−$598 M	$2,782 M
2022	$1,176 M	$1,867 M	−$691 M	$3,043 M
2023	$1,140 M	$1,720 M	−$581 M	$2,860 M
2024	$1,065 M	$1,876 M	−$811 M	$2,942 M

25 rows

World share & rank

World export share moved from 0.0% in 2000 to 0.0% in 2024; export rank #163 → #156.

Loading world share and rank…

View share & rank table

World export and import share in percent, and world ranks, of Lesotho per year.
Year	Export share (%)	Import share (%)	Export rank	Import rank
2000	0.00%	0.01%	#163	#169
2001	0.01%	0.01%	#146	#158
2002	0.01%	0.01%	#140	#155
2003	0.01%	0.01%	#135	#148
2004	0.01%	0.01%	#136	#158
2005	0.01%	0.01%	#153	#168
2006	0.01%	0.01%	#153	#170
2007	0.01%	0.01%	#149	#171
2008	0.01%	0.01%	#155	#174
2009	0.01%	0.01%	#156	#173
2010	0.01%	0.01%	#156	#172
2011	0.01%	0.01%	#156	#175
2012	0.01%	0.01%	#158	#173
2013	0.01%	0.01%	#160	#171
2014	0.01%	0.01%	#152	#174
2015	0.01%	0.01%	#153	#171
2016	0.01%	0.01%	#157	#169
2017	0.01%	0.01%	#154	#171
2018	0.01%	0.01%	#157	#170
2019	0.01%	0.01%	#155	#164
2020	0.01%	0.01%	#158	#168
2021	0.01%	0.01%	#160	#167
2022	0.00%	0.01%	#160	#166
2023	0.01%	0.01%	#157	#168
2024	0.00%	0.01%	#156	#164

25 rows

Trading partners

South Africa was Lesotho's top trading partner in 2024, at 63.0% of total trade; the top five partners covered 91.8%.

Year

Top partner share: 63.0%
Top-5 share: 91.8%
Partners: 130
Partner HHI (0–1): 0.422

Loading world basemap…

South Africa $394M

Belgium $275M

United States $256M

India $46M

China $29M

Canada $10M

Germany $9M

Eswatini $7M

United Kingdom $4M

Botswana $3M

Other Asia, nes $1M

Mozambique $1M

Japan $0M

Zambia $0M

Hong Kong $0M

View partner table

Top partners of Lesotho in 2024, USD millions.
Rank	Partner	Exports to ($M)	Imports from ($M)	Total ($M)	Balance ($M)
#1	South Africa	$394 M	$1,460 M	$1,854 M	−$1,066 M
#2	Belgium	$275 M	$3 M	$278 M	$272 M
#3	United States	$256 M	$9 M	$265 M	$248 M
#4	China	$29 M	$200 M	$230 M	−$171 M
#5	India	$46 M	$28 M	$74 M	$18 M
#6	Other Asia, nes	$1 M	$61 M	$62 M	−$60 M
#7	Japan	$0 M	$20 M	$20 M	−$20 M
#8	Germany	$9 M	$7 M	$16 M	$2 M
#9	Botswana	$3 M	$9 M	$12 M	−$6 M
#10	Mozambique	$1 M	$11 M	$11 M	−$10 M
#11	Zambia	$0 M	$10 M	$10 M	−$10 M
#12	Eswatini	$7 M	$3 M	$10 M	$3 M
#13	Canada	$10 M	$0 M	$10 M	$9 M
#14	Hong Kong	$0 M	$9 M	$9 M	−$9 M
#15	United Kingdom	$4 M	$3 M	$8 M	$1 M

15 rows

Products & sectors

Product composition of Lesotho's trade in 2024.

Year

Loading product detail for 2024 (large file, fetched on demand)…

View product table

The product table loads with the product data for 2024.

Concentration & risk

Lesotho's export partners diversified over 2000–2024 — HHI 0.651 → 0.264, a concentrated export base across 111 partners in 2024.

Loading concentration trends…

View concentration table

Export and import partner HHI (0–1) and partner counts of Lesotho per year.
Year	Export HHI	Import HHI	Export partners	Import partners
2000	0.651	0.584	50	47
2001	0.427	0.697	58	64
2002	0.488	0.480	56	67
2003	0.754	0.492	49	63
2004	0.401	0.357	60	67
2005	0.441	0.523	64	55
2006	0.470	0.496	71	66
2007	0.302	0.532	63	66
2008	0.341	0.443	88	60
2009	0.319	0.487	77	60
2010	0.304	0.502	88	80
2011	0.291	0.723	109	68
2012	0.287	0.672	104	75
2013	0.283	0.480	95	83
2014	0.357	0.545	101	81
2015	0.307	0.565	92	84
2016	0.280	0.546	109	95
2017	0.239	0.751	112	62
2018	0.286	0.551	116	105
2019	0.213	0.525	116	108
2020	0.259	0.502	116	104
2021	0.251	0.559	120	121
2022	0.247	0.584	110	102
2023	0.215	0.615	105	104
2024	0.264	0.619	111	99

25 rows

Downloads

The exact artifacts behind this page, as published: