Lesotho: External debt
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Lesotho |
External debt, percent of GDP |
|---|---|
| Latest value | 80.16 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Measure | percent |
| Data availability | 1990 - 2023 |
| Average | 59.04 |
| Min - Max | 31.65 - 88.42 |
| Source | The World Bank |
| Available for | Data download |
The latest value from 2023 is 80.16 percent, an increase from 79.53 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 114.96 percent, based on data from 167 countries. Historically, the average for Lesotho from 1990 to 2023 is 59.04 percent. The minimum value, 31.65 percent, was reached in 2011 while the maximum of 88.42 percent was recorded in 2001.
See the global rankings for that indicator or
use the country comparator to compare trends over time.
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Recent values | Lesotho: External debt |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 80.16 |
| 2022 | 79.53 |
| 2021 | 74.97 |
| 2020 | 83.06 |
| 2019 | 68.17 |
| 2018 | 59.20 |
| 2017 | 62.05 |
| 2016 | 61.56 |
Definition: The total debt of public and private borrowers held by non-residents as percent of GDP. Source: Kose, M. Ayhan, Sergio Kurlat, Franziska Ohnsorge, and Naotaka Sugawara. 2022. "A Cross-Country Database of Fiscal Space." Journal of International Money and Finance 128 (November): 102682.
Other resources:
Download data from our database
All indicators for Lesotho
All indicators on the website
Article: Are trade deficits bad for the economy?
Article: Sources of economic growth
Article: Currency values and investment returns
All articles
| Related indicators | Latest | Reference | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terms of trade | 81.90 | 2024 | percent |
| Trade openness | 153.98 | 2025 | percent |
| Financial openness | -1.248 | 2022 | index points |
| Exports, percent of GDP | 49.53 | 2025 | percent |
| Exports, billion dollars | 1.27 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Growth of exports | 1.52 | 2025 | percent |
| Imports, percent of GDP | 104.45 | 2025 | percent |
| Imports, billion dollars | 2.69 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Foreign Direct Investment, percent of GDP | -0.22 | 2025 | percent |
| Foreign Direct Investment, billion dollars | -0.01 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Portfolio investment inflows, equities | 0.19 | 2024 | million dollars (current) |
| Current account, percent of GDP | -0.15 | 2025 | percent |
| Current account, in dollars | 0.00 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Trade balance, percent of GDP | -54.92 | 2025 | percent |
| Trade balance, in dollars | -1.10 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Reserves | 1.01 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Remittances, percent of GDP | 20.94 | 2024 | percent |
| Remittances | 533.13 | 2025 | million U.S. dollars |
| Net errors and omissions | -148.77 | 2025 | million USD |
| External debt | 80.16 | 2023 | percent |
| Short-term external debt | 0.19 | 2023 | percent |
| Short-term debt to reserves | 0.39 | 2023 | percent |