Lesotho
The Mountain Kingdom's sometimes disruptive political dynamics are a perennial concern. The economy is not highly developed and remains highly dependent on neighbouring South Africa.
The underperforming South African economy continues to disproportionately affect the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) revenue pool, leaving smaller nations such as Lesotho more exposed compared to other members. An ongoing issue for Lesotho is a lack of sustainable employment, the local labour market remained strained last year with employment at local firms declining by 2.2% y-o-y in the fourth quarter of 2018. That said, economic activity has risen at the start of the new year thanks to an uptick in domestic demand. We forecast that real GDP will grow by 2.5% in 2019 - slightly lower than our previous projection of 2.9%. (Source: Lesotho Quarterly Update, published April 2019.)
Macroeconomic Data
(2018)
|
Fiscal Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-6.5 |
|
Consumer Price Index (% change y-o-y, avg) |
4.7 |
|
Current Account Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-4.3 |
|
Real GDP (annual % change) |
1.9 |
|
GDP per Capita, US$ |
1,241 |
|
Import Cover (months) |
3.6 |
|
Population, million |
2.3 |
| Total External Debt (as a % of GDP) |
38.8 |