Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho
Lesotho: Domestic credit to private sector by banks was 23.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho, 1973–2024
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho is 23.8%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and up 24.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho peaked at 24.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2004.
Lesotho ranks 127th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 6.0% | — |
| 1974 | 6.7% | +11.5% |
| 1975 | 5.3% | -20.2% |
| 1976 | 6.0% | +13.1% |
| 1977 | 5.5% | -8.6% |
| 1978 | 6.3% | +13.8% |
| 1979 | 8.7% | +38.9% |
| 1980 | 7.1% | -18.9% |
| 1981 | 10.9% | +54.5% |
| 1982 | 13.6% | +24.6% |
| 1983 | 11.8% | -13.2% |
| 1984 | 14.5% | +22.6% |
| 1985 | 15.4% | +6.2% |
| 1986 | 13.0% | -15.5% |
| 1987 | 14.7% | +13.5% |
| 1988 | 14.9% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 14.8% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 15.6% | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 16.2% | +3.6% |
| 1992 | 15.6% | -3.5% |
| 1993 | 18.0% | +15.3% |
| 1994 | 22.0% | +22.5% |
| 1995 | 18.0% | -18.2% |
| 1996 | 16.1% | -10.4% |
| 1997 | 21.1% | +31.1% |
| 1998 | 16.0% | -24.2% |
| 1999 | 14.5% | -9.3% |
| 2000 | 13.5% | -6.8% |
| 2001 | 12.3% | -9.3% |
| 2002 | 12.3% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | -58.0% |
| 2004 | 5.1% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 7.1% | +38.6% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 9.8% | +36.3% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 12.4% | +26.2% |
| 2010 | 13.2% | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 14.2% | +7.0% |
| 2012 | 18.4% | +29.5% |
| 2013 | 19.7% | +7.4% |
| 2014 | 19.1% | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 18.0% | -5.5% |
| 2016 | 18.0% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 19.7% | +9.5% |
| 2018 | 19.8% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 21.0% | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 21.6% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 22.0% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 21.4% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 24.3% | +13.6% |
| 2024 | 23.8% | -2.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 23.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.4%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 23.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 15.6%, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.4% | 5.3% | 8.7% | 7 |
| 1980s | 13.1% | 7.1% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.3% | 14.5% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 5.1% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.1% | 13.2% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.6% | 21.4% | 24.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More financial sector data for Lesotho
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0069 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 7.46 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0.548 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 5.45 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0069 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 7.46 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0.548 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho?
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Lesotho was 23.8% in 2024, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 24.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2004.
- How does Lesotho rank for domestic credit to private sector by banks?
- Lesotho ranks 127th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is domestic credit to private sector by banks rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.