Lesotho: Central government debt, total (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Lesotho's central government debt, total (current LCU) fell 90.9% on 2019 (from 11.11 billion to 1.01 billion).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +7.8% and a typical year strayed about 16.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 6.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 31.1% in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 90.9% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 2% 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.

Closest to Lesotho in the 2020 ranking

• Jamaica — 2nd of 6: 2.09 trillion
• Bhutan — 3rd of 6: 202.15 billion
• Bahrain — 4th of 6: 15.04 billion
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 6th of 6: 103.65 million

What this measures

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 13 values

Central government debt, total (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Botswana — 52.12 billion (2023)
• Eswatini — 25.39 billion (2021)
• Ethiopia — 846.21 billion (2019)
• Malawi — 9.59 trillion (2023)
• Mauritius — 296.83 billion (2019)
• South Africa — 6.09 trillion (2024)
• Zambia — 315.88 billion (2021)

More public sector data for Lesotho

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 39.91 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 713.78 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.63% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 7.98 billion (2024)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 7.69 billion (2024)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 22.08% (2024)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)
• Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) — 19.61% (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's central government debt, total (current LCU)?

1.01 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is down 81.53% from 5.48 billion in 2008 (13.13% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 13.08 billion in 2016 and the lowest 1.01 billion in 2020.

Is the latest change in central government debt, total (current LCU) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2020, Lesotho's central government debt, total (current LCU) fell 90.9% on 2019 (from 11.11 billion to 1.01 billion). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +7.8% and a typical year strayed about 16.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 6.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.DOD.TOTL.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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