Interest payments (% of revenue) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Interest payments (% of revenue) was 3.5% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Interest payments in Lesotho, 1984–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 3.5% for interest payments in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 191.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest payments in Lesotho peaked at 14.4% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2010.
Lesotho ranks 107th of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Interest payments (% of revenue) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 7.6% | — |
| 1986 | 2.0% | -72.9% |
| 1987 | 8.2% | +301.3% |
| 1988 | 9.4% | +14.2% |
| 1989 | 14.4% | +53.2% |
| 1991 | 7.4% | -48.3% |
| 1992 | 6.7% | -10.6% |
| 1993 | 4.9% | -26.1% |
| 1994 | 4.3% | -13.4% |
| 1995 | 4.7% | +11.1% |
| 1996 | 1.6% | -67.0% |
| 1997 | 2.5% | +58.4% |
| 1998 | 6.3% | +154.9% |
| 1999 | 4.5% | -28.4% |
| 2000 | 6.6% | +47.1% |
| 2001 | 5.2% | -22.1% |
| 2002 | 6.6% | +28.4% |
| 2003 | 6.1% | -7.4% |
| 2004 | 3.7% | -39.8% |
| 2005 | 2.5% | -31.4% |
| 2006 | 4.7% | +86.5% |
| 2007 | 4.2% | -11.0% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | -68.9% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -22.9% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +39.7% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | -13.4% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | +14.4% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -16.2% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +45.4% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +22.8% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | +29.0% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | +9.6% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 2.4% | -17.5% |
| 2022 | 3.3% | +39.0% |
| 2023 | 3.5% | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | +0.9% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 3.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.6%, 41% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 3.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.6%, 30% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Interest payments (% of revenue) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | +301.3% | 2.0% | 8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 8.3% | 2.0% | 14.4% | 5 |
| 1990s | 4.8% | 1.6% | 7.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 1.3% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.0% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.4% | 3.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More public sector data for Lesotho
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 1.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4526 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0004 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest payments in Lesotho?
- Interest payments in Lesotho was 3.5% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest payments recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 14.4% in 1989.
- What is the lowest interest payments recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2010.
- How does Lesotho rank for interest payments?
- Lesotho ranks 107th out of 155 countries with data for 2024.
- Is interest payments rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 191.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest payments (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Interest payments include interest payments on government debt (including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments) to domestic and foreign residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.