Lesotho: Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lesotho's domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) fell 0.43 percentage points on 2023 (from 24.73% to 24.3%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 5.03 percentage points in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.15 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.7 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 92% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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 39th highest value of the 48 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

• Hungary — 35th of 48: 32.37%
• Nicaragua — 36th of 48: 32.33%
• Latvia — 37th of 48: 29.33%
• Ireland — 39th of 48: 23.78%
• Kyrgyz Republic — 40th of 48: 22.29%
• Liberia — 41st of 48: 17.21%

What this measures

Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. The financial corporations include monetary authorities and deposit money banks, as well as other financial corporations where data are available (including corporations that do not accept transferable deposits but do incur such liabilities as time and savings deposits). Examples of other financial corporations are finance and leasing companies, money lenders, insurance corporations, pension funds, and foreign exchange companies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Credit to the private sector may sometimes include credit to state-owned or partially state-owned enterprises.

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

All 52 values

Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 6.58% (2025)
• Benin — 19.78% (2025)
• Botswana — 33.23% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 22.72% (2025)
• Burundi — 38.54% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 54.04% (2025)
• Cameroon — 14.09% (2019)
• Central African Republic — 13.04% (2022)
• Chad — 8.32% (2021)
• Comoros — 15.32% (2024)

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)
• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 221.03 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.27% (2025)
• Real effective exchange rate index (2010 = 100) — 79.66 (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)?

24.3% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 17.48 percentage points from 6.83% in 1973. The highest value was 24.73% in 2023 and the lowest 5.26% in 2004.

How does Lesotho rank?

39th highest of 48 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2024, Lesotho's domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) fell 0.43 percentage points on 2023 (from 24.73% to 24.3%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.