Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 31.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
31.2%
Change on year
down 6.7%
World rank
16th
of 184 countries
All-time high
40.1%
in 2007
All-time low
7.5%
in 1970
Years of data
64
1960–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho, 1960–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho is 31.2%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho peaked at 40.1% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 1970.
Lesotho ranks 16th of 184 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.4% | — |
| 1961 | 13.5% | +29.3% |
| 1962 | 12.0% | -11.2% |
| 1963 | 10.5% | -11.9% |
| 1964 | 9.6% | -8.5% |
| 1965 | 11.2% | +16.6% |
| 1966 | 7.7% | -31.5% |
| 1967 | 9.0% | +16.7% |
| 1968 | 8.1% | -9.3% |
| 1969 | 8.0% | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 7.5% | -5.8% |
| 1971 | 10.7% | +41.6% |
| 1972 | 11.1% | +3.8% |
| 1973 | 10.0% | -9.7% |
| 1974 | 11.3% | +13.3% |
| 1975 | 15.1% | +32.7% |
| 1976 | 12.6% | -16.3% |
| 1977 | 11.9% | -5.7% |
| 1978 | 13.7% | +15.7% |
| 1979 | 15.4% | +11.9% |
| 1980 | 22.8% | +48.0% |
| 1981 | 22.2% | -2.6% |
| 1982 | 21.8% | -1.6% |
| 1983 | 21.3% | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 21.3% | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 21.5% | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 23.3% | +8.4% |
| 1987 | 22.0% | -5.8% |
| 1988 | 19.8% | -9.9% |
| 1989 | 17.0% | -14.2% |
| 1990 | 15.3% | -9.9% |
| 1991 | 15.1% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 16.4% | +8.5% |
| 1993 | 15.4% | -6.3% |
| 1994 | 16.8% | +9.5% |
| 1995 | 17.8% | +5.8% |
| 1996 | 15.4% | -13.4% |
| 1997 | 16.9% | +9.4% |
| 1998 | 22.8% | +35.1% |
| 1999 | 21.3% | -6.6% |
| 2000 | 23.1% | +8.6% |
| 2001 | 22.8% | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 25.4% | +11.6% |
| 2003 | 26.2% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 25.1% | -3.9% |
| 2005 | 27.1% | +7.8% |
| 2006 | 26.5% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 40.1% | +51.0% |
| 2008 | 33.9% | -15.5% |
| 2009 | 31.8% | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 33.0% | +3.9% |
| 2011 | 32.9% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 29.9% | -9.2% |
| 2013 | 30.8% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 30.3% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 29.0% | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 30.8% | +6.2% |
| 2017 | 29.8% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 31.4% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 31.6% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 31.4% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 32.9% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 33.5% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 31.2% | -6.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.0% | 7.7% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.9% | 7.5% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.3% | 17.0% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.3% | 15.1% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.2% | 22.8% | 40.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.0% | 29.0% | 33.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.2% | 31.2% | 33.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 13 Republic of Moldova 32.0% compare
- 14 Antigua and Barbuda 31.8% compare
- 15 Latvia 31.3% compare
- 17 Cape Verde 30.7% compare
- 18 Croatia 30.1% compare
- 19 Hungary 29.9% compare
More economy & growth data for Lesotho
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 6.76 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.3404 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 370.67 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 9.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 1.04 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per capita 1,137 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 6.45 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 18.68 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 20,347 current LCU per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.62 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho was 31.2% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 40.1% in 2007.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 1970.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Lesotho ranks 16th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.