Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) was 4.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Risk premium on lending in Lesotho, 1993–2024
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 4.3% for risk premium on lending in 2024.
That represents a change of up 16.0% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in Lesotho peaked at 8.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 1997.
That places Lesotho 40th out of 86 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 5.8% | — |
| 1994 | 4.8% | -17.5% |
| 1995 | 4.0% | -17.3% |
| 1996 | 3.8% | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 3.2% | -16.3% |
| 1998 | 4.6% | +43.6% |
| 1999 | 6.6% | +43.9% |
| 2000 | 8.1% | +21.9% |
| 2001 | 7.1% | -12.3% |
| 2002 | 5.8% | -18.4% |
| 2003 | 4.1% | -29.7% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | +16.4% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | +17.8% |
| 2007 | 6.3% | +19.5% |
| 2008 | 6.4% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | -18.6% |
| 2010 | 5.0% | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 4.7% | -8.4% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.3% | -6.0% |
| 2015 | 4.3% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | +13.8% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | +6.1% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 4.9% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 4.7% | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 4.8% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 3.8% | -21.0% |
| 2023 | 3.7% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 4.3% | +16.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 4.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.5%, 1.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 4.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.7%, 76% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.7% | 3.2% | 6.6% | 7 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 3.9% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.8% | 4.3% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 37 Mozambique 5.0% compare
- 38 Solomon Islands 4.7% compare
- 39 Fiji 4.4% compare
- 41 Mauritius 4.3% compare
- 42 Trinidad and Tobago 4.2% compare
- 43 Grenada 4.2% compare
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 risk premium on lending in Lesotho?
- Risk premium on lending in Lesotho was 4.3% in 2024, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 8.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 1997.
- How does Lesotho rank for risk premium on lending?
- Lesotho ranks 40th out of 86 countries with data for 2024.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.