Lesotho: Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Lesotho's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) rose 0.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.1% to 0.13%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2024), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 6.15 percentage points in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.94 percentage points 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 13% 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 127th highest value of the 130 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

• Moldova — 123rd of 130: 0.21%
• Iraq — 124th of 130: 0.14%
• North Macedonia — 125th of 130: 0.14%
• Lao PDR — 127th of 130: 0.12%
• Gambia, The — 128th of 130: 0.07%
• Israel — 129th of 130: 0.06%

What this measures

Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

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

All 36 values

Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.00779% (2025)
• Benin — 11.43% (2023)
• Botswana — 0.32% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 18.16% (2024)
• Burundi — 15.63% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 0.35% (2025)
• Cameroon — 3.95% (2024)
• Comoros — 1.44% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports)?

0.13% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1988?

It is up 2.86 percentage points from -2.73% in 1988. The highest value was 6.09% in 1993 and the lowest -2.73% in 1988.

How does Lesotho rank?

127th highest of 130 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2025, Lesotho's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) rose 0.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.1% to 0.13%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2024), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 TX.VAL.INSF.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments 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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