Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) was US$277 million in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.36% from US$278 million in 2010.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$277 million | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | US$180 million | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | US$278 million | 2010 |
| Highest | US$347 million | 2018 |
| Lowest | US$16 million | 1996 |
| Average since 2011 | US$263.7 million | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | US$17 million |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 14.2% on 2019 (from US$323 million to US$277 million).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +46.9% and a typical year strayed about 213.7% 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 1,047.1% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.5% in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 20% 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 2020, Lesotho had the 86th highest value of the 129 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Lesotho | US$277 million | 2020 |
| World | US$1.44 trillion | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | US$38.07 billion | 2019 |
| Lower middle income | US$133.69 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Lesotho in the 2020 ranking
What this measures
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 26 values
| Year | International tourism, expenditures (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 277,000,000 |
| 2019 | 323,000,000 |
| 2018 | 347,000,000 |
| 2017 | 307,000,000 |
| 2016 | 262,000,000 |
| 2015 | 180,000,000 |
| 2014 | 177,000,000 |
| 2013 | 212,000,000 |
| 2012 | 252,000,000 |
| 2011 | 300,000,000 |
International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$691 million (2020)
- Benin — US$130 million (2019)
- Botswana — US$91.8 million (2020)
- Burkina Faso — US$185.2 million (2019)
- Cabo Verde — US$59 million (2020)
- Cameroon — US$697 million (2020)
- Comoros — US$43 million (2020)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$115 million (2018)
- Congo, Rep. — US$457 million (2016)
- Côte d'Ivoire
More private sector & trade data for Lesotho
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 102.89% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — 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$460.39 million (2025)
- Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 11.28% (2025)
- Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 77.67% (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?
- US$277 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 1,529% from US$17 million in 1995 (11.81% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$347 million in 2018 and the lowest US$16 million in 1996.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 86th highest of 129 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (current US$) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2020, Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 14.2% on 2019 (from US$323 million to US$277 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +46.9% and a typical year strayed about 213.7% 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 ST.INT.XPND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism 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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