Lesotho

Economy - overview:
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.37 billion (2008 est.)
$3.155 billion (2007)
$3.011 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.652 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.8% (2008 est.)
4.8% (2007 est.)
6.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,600 (2008 est.)
$1,500 (2007 est.)
$1,400 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15.1%
industry: 46.7%
services: 38.2% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
838,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
industry and services: 14% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate:
45% (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
63.2 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):
39.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $523 million
expenditures: $479.5 million (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
12.82% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
14.13% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$439.2 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$160.2 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
NA
Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Industries:
food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
12% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
200 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
226 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
50 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1,400 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
1,500 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
$666 million (2008 est.)
Exports:
$1.06 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners:
US 71.5%, Belgium 25.6%, Canada 1.2% (2007)
Imports:
$1.339 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
China 30%, Hong Kong 29.6%, India 10%, South Korea 6.6%, Germany 6.4%, Pakistan 4.6% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$799 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$628 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
maloti (LSL) per US dollar - 7.75 (2008 est.), 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004)