Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho
Lesotho: Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes was 908,600 trips in 2016. ▲ Rising
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho, 1995–2016
Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in trips.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 908,600 trips for arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in 2016. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 134.8% on the previous year and up 272.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho peaked at 908,600 trips in 2016 and was at its lowest, 183,000 trips, in 1995.
That places Lesotho 81st out of 179 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | trips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 183,000 trips | — |
| 1996 | 241,000 trips | +31.7% |
| 1997 | 259,000 trips | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 244,000 trips | -5.8% |
| 1999 | 262,000 trips | +7.4% |
| 2000 | 256,000 trips | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 250,000 trips | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 244,000 trips | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 275,000 trips | +12.7% |
| 2004 | 246,000 trips | -10.5% |
| 2005 | 244,000 trips | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 254,000 trips | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 254,000 trips | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 304,000 trips | +19.7% |
| 2010 | 374,000 trips | +23.0% |
| 2011 | 347,000 trips | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 373,000 trips | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 387,000 trips | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 908,600 trips | +134.8% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 908,600 trips is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 369,200 trips, 2.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 908,600 trips is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 228,750 trips, 4.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +134.8% | 387,000 trips | 908,600 trips |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 237,800 trips | 183,000 trips | 262,000 trips | 5 |
| 2000s | 258,556 trips | 244,000 trips | 304,000 trips | 9 |
| 2010s | 477,920 trips | 347,000 trips | 908,600 trips | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5388 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0101 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1115 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0549 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho?
- Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Lesotho was 908,600 trips in 2016, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 908,600 trips in 2016.
- What is the lowest arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 183,000 trips in 1995.
- How does Lesotho rank for arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes?
- Lesotho ranks 81st out of 179 countries with data for 2016.
- Is arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 272.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of international trips where the main purpose is personal (leisure, visiting friends and relatives, health, etc.) and the visitor stays overnight.