Lesotho: New businesses registered (number)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Lesotho's new businesses registered (number) fell 31% on 2019 (from 2,872 to 1,981).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2019), the average change was +11.3% and a typical year strayed about 20.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 52.5% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 31% in 2020. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 126.77 a year. A straight line explains 37% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Lesotho in the 2020 ranking

• Oman — 3rd of 8: 5,804
• Trinidad and Tobago — 4th of 8: 4,344
• Mali — 5th of 8: 2,741
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 7th of 8: 323
• Grenada — 8th of 8: 217

What this measures

New businesses registered are the number of new limited liability corporations (or its equivalent) registered in the calendar year.

Limitations: The definition of entrepreneurship used is limited to the formal sector. Yet, it should be noted that the exclusion of the informal sector is based on the difficulties of quantifying the number of firms that compose it, rather than on its relevance for developing economies. Data collected from economies categorized as offshore financial centers by Eurostat are excluded from the analysis, because registered entities in these countries may not fit the objective of the Entrepreneurship Database aiming at measuring formally registered companies with actual economic activities.

All 15 values

New businesses registered (number) in nearby economies

• Angola — 30,956 (2024)
• Benin — 5,522 (2024)
• Botswana — 21,456 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 10,046 (2024)
• Burundi — 7,263 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 7,719 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 258 (2024)
• Chad — 1,391 (2024)
• Comoros — 387 (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 6,095 (2024)
• Congo, 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

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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's new businesses registered (number)?

1,981 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 126.4% from 875 in 2006 (6.01% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3,725 in 2018 and the lowest 875 in 2006.

Is the latest change in new businesses registered (number) unusual for Lesotho?

In 2020, Lesotho's new businesses registered (number) fell 31% on 2019 (from 2,872 to 1,981). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2019), the average change was +11.3% and a typical year strayed about 20.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IC.BUS.NREG, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship 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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