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
Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho, 2000–2024
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.
Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.2% | — |
| 2001 | 14.3% | +564.9% |
| 2002 | 7.2% | -50.1% |
| 2003 | 8.6% | +20.4% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -45.8% |
| 2007 | 11.2% | +140.0% |
| 2008 | 9.6% | -14.0% |
| 2009 | 8.6% | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 16.4% | +91.5% |
| 2011 | 13.0% | -21.0% |
| 2012 | 13.6% | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 25.6% | +88.5% |
| 2014 | 9.1% | -64.5% |
| 2015 | 9.6% | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 12.0% | +25.0% |
| 2017 | 12.5% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 10.0% | -19.7% |
| 2019 | 8.5% | -15.7% |
| 2020 | 10.0% | +18.0% |
| 2021 | 11.5% | +15.5% |
| 2022 | 13.9% | +20.6% |
| 2023 | 14.0% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 23.3% | +66.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 23.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.6%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 23.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.6%, 84% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of food products in total merchandise exports in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +564.9% | 2.2% | 14.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More economy & growth data for Lesotho
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 0 BoP, current US$ (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 0 BoP, current US$ per person (1989)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -5.77 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 54.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -2.44 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4215 includes gold, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per capita 431.19 includes gold, current US$ per person (2024)
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.
Download this data
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About this data
Value of food exports divided by the total value of merchandise exports, expressed as a percentage.