Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) was US$276 million in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 2.22% from US$270 million in 2010 (0.22% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$276 million | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | US$174 million | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | US$270 million | 2010 |
| Highest | US$342 million | 2018 |
| Lowest | US$12 million | 1996 |
| Average since 2011 | US$258.3 million | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | US$13 million |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 13.5% on 2019 (from US$319 million to US$276 million).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +56.7% and a typical year strayed about 259.3% 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 1,271.4% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.5% 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 23% 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 87th highest value of the 155 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$276 million | 2020 |
| World | US$1.4 trillion | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | US$26.04 billion | 2019 |
| Lower middle income | US$117.55 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Lesotho in the 2020 ranking
What this measures
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 26 values
| Year | International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 276,000,000 |
| 2019 | 319,000,000 |
| 2018 | 342,000,000 |
| 2017 | 303,000,000 |
| 2016 | 258,000,000 |
| 2015 | 174,000,000 |
| 2014 | 170,000,000 |
| 2013 | 206,000,000 |
| 2012 | 245,000,000 |
| 2011 | 290,000,000 |
International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$615 million (2020)
- Benin — US$94 million (2019)
- Botswana — US$89 million (2020)
- Burkina Faso — US$114.6 million (2019)
- Burundi — US$23 million (2018)
- Cabo Verde — US$52 million (2020)
- Cameroon — US$553 million (2020)
- Comoros — US$31 million (2020)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
More private sector & trade data for Lesotho
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 102.89% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — 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$460.39 million (2025)
- Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 11.28% (2025)
- Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 77.67% (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$)?
- US$276 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 2,023% from US$13 million in 1995 (13% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$342 million in 2018 and the lowest US$12 million in 1996.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 87th highest of 155 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2020, Lesotho's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 13.5% on 2019 (from US$319 million to US$276 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +56.7% and a typical year strayed about 259.3% 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.TVLX.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.
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.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in