Lesotho Economy 2001

Economy - overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38%
services: 44% (1999)

Population below poverty line: 49.2% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 700,000 economically active

Labor force - by occupation: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate: 45% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 15.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 55 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999)

Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports: $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998)

Exports - partners: South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998)

Imports: $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995)

Imports - partners: South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998)

Debt - external: $720 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $123.7 million (1995)

Currency: loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code: LSL; ZAR

Exchange rates: maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.