Economy - overview Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important naturalresources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture, light manufacturing,and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past five years; in 1996 their remittancesadded about 33% to GDP compared with the addition of roughly 67% in 1990.The great majority of households gain their livelihoods from subsistence farmingand migrant labor; a large portion of the adult male work force is employedin South African mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products whichsupport the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Although droughthas decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion ofa major hydropower facility will permit the sale of water to South Africaand will support the economy's continued expansion. The pace of the privatizationof state-owned firms increased toward the end of 1994.

GDP purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 10% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,860 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 14%
industry: 46%
services : 40% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 8.7% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total : 689,000 economically active
by occupation: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate substantial unemployment and underemployment effecting more than halfof the labor force (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues : $445 million
expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $128 million (FY94/95est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate 12.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity - capacity 13,400 kW (1993)
note: 98% of electricity supplied by South Africa

Electricity - production NA kWh
note: 98% of electricity supplied by South Africa

Electricity - consumption per capita NA kWh

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

Exports
total value: $218 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: clothing, furniture, footwear, machinery and equipment, wool (1993)
partners: South African Customs Union 46%, North America 34%, EU 18% (1993)

Imports
total value: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities: corn, clothing, building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines,petroleum products (1993)
partners: South African Customs Union 83%, Asia 12%, EU 3% (1993)

Debt - external $512 million (1993)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente
note : maloti (M) is the plural form of loti

Exchange rates maloti (M) per US$1 - 4.6410 (January 1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995),3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992); note - the Basotho loti is atpar with the South African rand

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.