Lesotho: Agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lesotho's agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports) fell 1.41 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.56% to 5.15%).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.18 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.43 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.69 percentage points in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Lesotho had the 5th highest value of the 35 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Lesotho in the 2024 ranking

• Uruguay — 2nd of 35: 14.11%
• Burkina Faso — 3rd of 35: 6.03%
• Central African Republic — 4th of 35: 5.92%
• Cambodia — 6th of 35: 2.62%
• Namibia — 7th of 35: 1.88%
• Ukraine — 8th of 35: 1.76%

What this measures

Agricultural raw materials comprise section 2 of SITC Rev. 3 (crude materials, inedible, except fuels) excluding divisions 22 (oil-seeds and oleaginous fruits), 27 (crude fertilizers and minerals excluding coal, petroleum, and precious stones), and 28 (metalliferous ores and scrap). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of 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.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 23 values

Agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.03% (2025)
• Benin — 52.85% (2024)
• Botswana — 0.04% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 6.03% (2024)
• Burundi — 0.53% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 0% (2023)
• Cameroon — 14.89% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 5.92% (2024)
• Comoros — 0.00054% (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Lesotho

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 102.89% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$1.88 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$773 million (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 2.34% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 8.72% (2025)
• Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$460.39 million (2025)
• Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 11.28% (2025)
• Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 77.67% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports)?

5.15% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 5.01 percentage points from 0.14% in 2000. The highest value was 6.56% in 2023 and the lowest 0.14% in 2000.

How does Lesotho rank?

5th highest of 35 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2024, Lesotho's agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports) fell 1.41 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.56% to 5.15%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.18 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.AGRI.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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