Lesotho's tax revenue (% of GDP) was 35.42% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.91 percentage points from 36.33% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 35.42% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 32.54% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 36.33% | 2014 |
| Highest | 40% | 2023 |
| Lowest | 22.94% | 2000 |
| Average since 2015 | 33.41% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 28.99% | 1982 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Lesotho's tax revenue (% of GDP) fell 4.58 percentage points on 2023 (from 40% to 35.42%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.56 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.69 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 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 2024, Lesotho had the 2nd highest value of the 90 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 | 35.42% | 2024 |
| World | 13.86% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 12.09% | 2018 |
Closest to Lesotho in the 2024 ranking
- Namibia — 2nd of 90: 33.87%
- Denmark — 3rd of 90: 33.36%
- New Zealand — 4th of 90: 29.52%
What this measures
Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. 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: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 42 values
| Year | Tax revenue (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 35.42 |
| 2023 | 40 |
| 2022 | 30.44 |
| 2021 | 31.87 |
| 2020 | 35.99 |
| 2019 | 32.54 |
| 2018 | 31.82 |
| 2017 | 33.01 |
| 2016 | 29.29 |
| 2015 | 33.77 |
| 2014 |
Tax revenue (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Angola — 7.59% (2024)
- Botswana — 22.42% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 18.68% (2024)
- Burundi — 12.67% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 18.39% (2020)
- Cameroon — 11.34% (2021)
- Central African Republic — 8.21% (2021)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 10.66% (2022)
- Congo, Rep. — 6.51% (2021)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 13.04% (2023)
- Equatorial Guinea — 6.6% (2022)
- Eswatini
More public sector data for Lesotho
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 39.91 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 713.78 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.63% (2025)
- Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 7.98 billion (2024)
- Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 7.69 billion (2024)
- Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 22.08% (2024)
- Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)
- Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) — 19.61% (2024)
- Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lesotho's tax revenue (% of GDP)?
- 35.42% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1982?
- It is up 6.43 percentage points from 28.99% in 1982. The highest value was 40% in 2023 and the lowest 22.94% in 2000.
- How does Lesotho rank?
- 2nd highest of 90 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in tax revenue (% of GDP) unusual for Lesotho?
- In 2024, Lesotho's tax revenue (% of GDP) fell 4.58 percentage points on 2023 (from 40% to 35.42%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
- Where does this data come from?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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