Lesotho's imports of goods and services (constant LCU) was 23.77 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 9.57% from 21.69 billion in 2015 (0.92% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 23.77 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 21.89 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 21.69 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 23.77 billion | 2025 |
| Lowest | 12.24 million | 1960 |
| Average since 2016 | 22.22 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 12.24 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Lesotho's imports of goods and services (constant LCU) rose 2.6% on 2024 (from 23.16 billion to 23.77 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +6.2% and a typical year strayed about 9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 54.8% in 1976 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.6% in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 25% 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 2025, Lesotho had the 116th highest value of the 128 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 2025 ranking
- Sierra Leone — 113th of 128: 24.87 billion
- Estonia — 114th of 128: 24.47 billion
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 115th of 128: 24.4 billion
- Latvia — 117th of 128: 22.33 billion
- Libya — 118th of 128: 22.17 billion
- Malta — 119th of 128: 21.33 billion
What this measures
Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed in constant prices, meaning the series has been adjusted to account for price changes over time. The reference year for this adjustment varies by country. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 66 values
| Year | Imports of goods and services (constant LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 23,770,000,000 |
| 2024 | 23,164,000,000 |
| 2023 | 21,587,418,000 |
| 2022 | 21,639,035,200 |
| 2021 | 21,799,025,400 |
| 2020 | 21,893,201,200 |
| 2019 | 22,019,384,800 |
| 2018 | 22,293,277,300 |
| 2017 | 22,043,023,400 |
| 2016 | 21,998,841,800 |
Imports of goods and services (constant LCU) in nearby economies
- Angola — 2.5 trillion (2024)
- Benin — 2.73 trillion (2025)
- Botswana — 66.47 billion (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 4.26 trillion (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 136.49 billion (2025)
- Cameroon — 5.54 trillion (2025)
- Central African Republic — 287.93 billion (2025)
- Chad — 1.97 trillion (2025)
- Comoros — 183.97 billion (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
More economic policy & debt data for Lesotho
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$805.47 million (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 7.4 billion (2025)
- Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$1.99 billion (2025)
- Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 21.89 billion (2025)
- Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$840.08 (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.81 billion (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 29.29 billion (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's imports of goods and services (constant LCU)?
- 23.77 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 194,051% from 12.24 million in 1960 (12.35% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 23.77 billion in 2025 and the lowest 12.24 million in 1960.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 116th highest of 128 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (constant LCU) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2025, Lesotho's imports of goods and services (constant LCU) rose 2.6% on 2024 (from 23.16 billion to 23.77 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +6.2% and a typical year strayed about 9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 NE.IMP.GNFS.KN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; 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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