Lesotho: Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lesotho's manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) fell 1.98 percentage points on 2023 (from 14.05% to 12.07%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 6.89 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.42 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% 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 2024, Lesotho had the 13th highest value of the 45 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

• Bolivia — 9th of 45: 13.07%
• Serbia — 10th of 45: 12.69%
• Peru — 11th of 45: 12.24%
• Togo — 13th of 45: 11.42%
• West Bank and Gaza — 14th of 45: 11.32%
• Israel — 15th of 45: 11.24%

What this measures

Manufacturing includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) major division C and is defined as the physical or chemical transformation of materials or components into new products. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Ideally, industrial output should be measured through regular censuses and surveys of firms. But in most developing countries such surveys are infrequent, so earlier survey results must be extrapolated using an appropriate indicator. The choice of sampling unit, which may be the enterprise (where responses may be based on financial records) or the establishment (where production units may be recorded separately), also affects the quality of the data. Moreover, much industrial production is organized in unincorporated or owner-operated ventures that are not captured by surveys aimed at the formal sector.

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

All 61 values

Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 6.79% (2025)
• Benin — 10.15% (2025)
• Botswana — 5.69% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 6.62% (2025)
• Burundi — 13.1% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 5.19% (2025)
• Cameroon — 14.57% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 17.95% (2023)
• Chad — 6.31% (2024)
• Comoros — 7.17% (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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)?

12.07% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1964?

It is up 11.26 percentage points from 0.81% in 1964. The highest value was 24.56% in 2002 and the lowest 0.77% in 1965.

How does Lesotho rank?

13th highest of 45 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2024, Lesotho's manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) fell 1.98 percentage points on 2023 (from 14.05% to 12.07%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 NV.IND.MANF.ZS, 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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