Lesotho's deposit interest rate (%) was 2.46% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.26 percentage points from 2.73% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 2.46% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 1.65% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 2.73% | 2014 |
| Highest | 13.89% | 1985 |
| Lowest | 1.11% | 2016 |
| Average since 2015 | 1.78% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 7.5% | 1980 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Lesotho's deposit interest rate (%) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2023 (from 2.44% to 2.46%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.46 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above 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 4.92 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.85 percentage points in 1986. 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 26% 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 12th highest value of the 17 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
What this measures
Deposit interest rate is the rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.
Limitations: Countries use a variety of reporting formats, sample designs, interest compounding formulas, averaging methods, and data presentations for indices and other data series on interest rates. The IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual does not provide guidelines beyond the general recommendation that such data should reflect market prices and effective (rather than nominal) interest rates and should be representative of the financial assets and markets to be covered. For more information, please see http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/mfs/manual/index.htm.
All 42 values
| Year | Deposit interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.46 |
| 2023 | 2.44 |
| 2022 | 1.65 |
| 2021 | 1.66 |
| 2020 | 1.91 |
| 2019 | 1.65 |
| 2018 | 1.39 |
| 2017 | 1.22 |
| 2016 | 1.11 |
| 2015 | 2.33 |
| 2014 |
Deposit interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 7.98% (2025)
- Benin — 5.3% (2021)
- Botswana — 2.35% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 5.3% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 1.53% (2025)
- Cameroon — 2.45% (2018)
- Central African Republic — 2.45% (2016)
- Chad — 2.45% (2016)
- Comoros — 2.06% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 7.89% (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — 2.45% (2016)
- Côte d'Ivoire
More financial sector data for Lesotho
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 207.17 (2025)
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$17.89 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$17.89 (2025)
- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 3% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 23.84% (2024)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 24.3% (2024)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 24.3% (2024)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 221.03 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.27% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's deposit interest rate (%)?
- 2.46% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is down 5.04 percentage points from 7.5% in 1980. The highest value was 13.89% in 1985 and the lowest 1.11% in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 12th highest of 17 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in deposit interest rate (%) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2024, Lesotho's deposit interest rate (%) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2023 (from 2.44% to 2.46%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.46 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above 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 FR.INR.DPST, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, 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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