Lesotho: Food imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lesotho's food imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 0.44 percentage points on 2023 (from 22.51% to 22.95%).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −0.28 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.91 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 9.39 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.29 percentage points in 2010. 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 0.4 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 53% 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 12th highest value of the 36 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

• Seychelles — 8th of 36: 26.11%
• Grenada — 9th of 36: 24.18%
• Mauritania — 10th of 36: 23.87%
• Gambia, The — 12th of 36: 22.01%
• Central African Republic — 13th of 36: 20.92%
• Jordan — 14th of 36: 20.67%

What this measures

Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a 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

Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 15.62% (2025)
• Benin — 33.27% (2024)
• Botswana — 16.21% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 11.18% (2024)
• Burundi — 13.65% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 32.56% (2024)
• Cameroon — 21.75% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 20.92% (2024)
• Comoros — 42.07% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 10.5% (2024)

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 food imports (% of merchandise imports)?

22.95% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 5.34 percentage points from 17.62% in 2000. The highest value was 28.95% in 2009 and the lowest 15.62% in 2004.

How does Lesotho rank?

12th highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in food imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2024, Lesotho's food imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 0.44 percentage points on 2023 (from 22.51% to 22.95%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −0.28 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.91 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 TM.VAL.FOOD.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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