Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho

Lesotho: Share of food products in total merchandise exports was 23.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
23.3%
Change on year
up 66.5%
World rank
71st
of 196 countries
All-time high
25.6%
in 2013
All-time low
2.2%
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2024

Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho, 2000–2024

05101520252000201220242000: 2.2 % of merchandise exports2001: 14.3 % of merchandise exports2002: 7.2 % of merchandise exports2003: 8.6 % of merchandise exports2004: 4.7 % of merchandise exports2007: 11.2 % of merchandise exports2008: 9.6 % of merchandise exports2009: 8.6 % of merchandise exports2010: 16.4 % of merchandise exports2011: 13 % of merchandise exports2012: 13.6 % of merchandise exports2013: 25.6 % of merchandise exports2014: 9.1 % of merchandise exports2015: 9.6 % of merchandise exports2016: 12 % of merchandise exports2017: 12.5 % of merchandise exports2018: 10 % of merchandise exports2019: 8.5 % of merchandise exports2020: 10 % of merchandise exports2021: 11.5 % of merchandise exports2022: 13.9 % of merchandise exports2023: 14 % of merchandise exports2024: 23.3 % of merchandise exports

Source: UN Comtrade, WITS, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of merchandise exports.

Analysis

In 2024, share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho stood at 23.3%.

That represents a change of up 66.5% on the previous year and up 156.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho peaked at 25.6% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2000.

That places Lesotho 71st out of 196 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 8.3% 2.2% 14.3% 8
2010s 13.0% 8.5% 25.6% 10
2020s 14.5% 10.0% 23.3% 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 68 Samoa 24.8% compare
  2. 69 Liberia 24.5% compare
  3. 70 Pakistan 24.4% compare
  4. 72 Laos 23.2% compare
  5. 73 El Salvador 22.9% compare
  6. 74 Indonesia 22.9% compare

See the full ranking of 196 places →

More economy & growth data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho?
Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho was 23.3% in 2024, according to UN Comtrade, WITS, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of food products in total merchandise exports recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 25.6% in 2013.
What is the lowest share of food products in total merchandise exports recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2000.
How does Lesotho rank for share of food products in total merchandise exports?
Lesotho ranks 71st out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of food products in total merchandise exports rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 156.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from UN Comtrade, WITS, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of food products in total merchandise exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of food products in total merchandise exports
Unit
% of merchandise exports
Source
UN Comtrade, WITS, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
196 places, 7,959 data points, 1962–2025
Last refreshed

Value of food exports divided by the total value of merchandise exports, expressed as a percentage.