Central government debt, total in Lesotho
Lesotho: Central government debt, total was 3.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Central government debt, total in Lesotho, 2008–2020
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 3.0% for central government debt, total in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 90.7% on the previous year and down 89.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, central government debt, total in Lesotho peaked at 42.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2020.
Lesotho ranks 83rd of 83 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Central government debt, total in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 37.5% | — |
| 2009 | 41.7% | +11.1% |
| 2010 | 29.6% | -29.1% |
| 2011 | 27.1% | -8.2% |
| 2012 | 32.2% | +18.6% |
| 2013 | 33.2% | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 33.0% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 33.1% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 42.1% | +26.9% |
| 2017 | 37.4% | -11.2% |
| 2018 | 32.8% | -12.1% |
| 2019 | 32.2% | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 3.0% | -90.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.6% | 37.5% | 41.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 33.3% | 27.1% | 42.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 80 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 14.9% compare
- 81 Chile 13.1%
- 82 Namibia 4.7% compare
More economy & growth data for Lesotho
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.62 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.8724 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 949.98 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current US$), annual growth -10.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current LCU), annual growth -7.5 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), annual 2.85 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 1.16 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 1,263 current LCU per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) -2.51 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.0538 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is central government debt, total in Lesotho?
- Central government debt, total in Lesotho was 3.0% in 2020, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest central government debt, total recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 42.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest central government debt, total recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2020.
- How does Lesotho rank for central government debt, total?
- Lesotho ranks 83rd out of 83 countries with data for 2020.
- Is central government debt, total rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 89.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Central government debt, total (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. 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.