| Economy | Lesotho |
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Economy - overview:
|
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. Despite Lesotho's market-based economy being heavily tied to its neighbor South Africa, the US is an important trade partner because of the export sector's heavy dependence on apparel exports. Exports have grown significantly because of the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Economic growth slowed in 2009 due mainly to the effects of the global economic crisis. Lesotho's budget relies heavily on customs receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which declined in as trade fell. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$3.311 billion (2009 est.)
$3.341 billion (2008 est.)
$3.128 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$1,500 (2009 est.)
$1,600 (2008 est.)
$1,500 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$1.624 billion (2009 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
-0.9% (2009 est.)
6.8% (2008 est.)
4.8% (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 15.9%
industry: 45.4%
services: 38.7% (2009 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
39.6% of GDP (2009 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
|
49% (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 39.4% (2003) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
63.2 (1995)
56 (1986-87) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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8.5% (2009 est.)
10.7% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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14.05% (31 December 2008)
12.82% (31 December 2007) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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16.19% (31 December 2008)
14.13% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$416.5 million (31 December 2008)
$439.2 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
|
196 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$108.1 million (31 December 2008)
$160.2 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
|
51 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
|
$NA (31 December 2008)
$NA (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
|
void |
Labor force:
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854,600 (2007 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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40.11 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
industry and services: 14% (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
|
45% (2002 est.) |
Budget:
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revenues: $563.4 million
expenditures: $675.4 million (2009 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
|
265 USD per capita |
Public debt:
|
void |
Industries:
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food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-4% (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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502 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
|
236 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
|
516.9 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
243 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
|
50 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2008 est.) |
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
|
void |
Oil - consumption:
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2,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
0.34 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
|
0 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - imports:
|
1,553 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
|
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Current account balance:
|
$1 million (2009 est.)
$121 million (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
1 USD per capita |
Exports:
|
$872 million (2009 est.)
$956 million (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
410 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
|
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners:
|
US 58.9%, Belgium 37%, Madagascar 1.2% (2008) |
Imports:
|
$1.827 billion (2009 est.)
$1.88 billion (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
|
858 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners:
|
China 35.5%, Hong Kong 22.1%, South Korea 19.1%, Germany 5.9%, Pakistan 4.6% (2008) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$738 million (31 December 2009 est.)
$993 million (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
347 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
|
$581 million (31 December 2009 est.)
$619 million (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
273 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
|
void |
Economic aid - donor:
|
void |
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$68.82 million |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
33 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Exchange rates:
|
maloti (LSL) per US dollar - 9.8 (2009), 7.75 (2008), 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005) |
Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31 March |
|
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