Lesotho's real interest rate (%) was 4.92% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 8.16 percentage points from -3.24% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.92% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 7.49% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | -3.24% | 2014 |
| Highest | 22.97% | 1982 |
| Lowest | -21.53% | 1980 |
| Average since 2015 | 5.49% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | -21.53% | 1980 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Lesotho's real interest rate (%) fell 5.81 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.73% to 4.92%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 23.68 percentage points in 1981 and the biggest yearly fall was 22.76 percentage points in 2008. 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 less than 1% 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 12th highest value of the 17 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
- Namibia — 8th of 17: 6.38%
- Russian Federation — 9th of 17: 5.82%
- China — 10th of 17: 5.15%
- Papua New Guinea — 12th of 17: 4.86%
- Botswana — 13th of 17: 4.24%
- Albania — 14th of 17: 4%
What this measures
An interest rate is the amount charged, expressed as a percentage of the principal over a period of time, by the owners of certain kinds of financial assets for putting the financial assets at the disposal of another institutional unit. The real interest rate is the lending interest rate adjusted for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.
All 45 values
| Year | Real interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.92 |
| 2023 | 10.73 |
| 2022 | 3.27 |
| 2021 | 4.93 |
| 2020 | 2.28 |
| 2019 | 7.49 |
| 2018 | -0.3302 |
| 2017 | 9.37 |
| 2016 | 11.9 |
| 2015 | 0.333 |
| 2014 |
Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — -0.93% (2025)
- Benin — 4.56% (2021)
- Botswana — 4.24% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 6.13% (2021)
- Burundi — -4.95% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 5.9% (2025)
- Comoros — 0.05% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 15.12% (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 6.55% (2016)
- Eswatini — 9.45% (2024)
- Gambia, The — 13.08% (2025)
- Guinea-Bissau
More financial sector data for Lesotho
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 207.17 (2025)
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$17.89 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$17.89 (2025)
- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 3% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 23.84% (2024)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 24.3% (2024)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 24.3% (2024)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 221.03 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.27% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's real interest rate (%)?
- 4.92% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is up 26.45 percentage points from -21.53% in 1980. The highest value was 22.97% in 1982 and the lowest -21.53% in 1980.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 12th highest of 17 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in real interest rate (%) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2024, Lesotho's real interest rate (%) fell 5.81 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.73% to 4.92%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 FR.INR.RINR, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, 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.
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