Total natural resource rents in Lesotho
Lesotho: Total natural resource rents was 4.3% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Total natural resource rents in Lesotho, 1970–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 4.3% for total natural resource rents in 2021.
The figure is down 5.2% on the previous year and up 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Lesotho peaked at 13.7% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 1993.
Lesotho ranks 81st of 211 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.1% | 7.1% | 13.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.2% | 5.9% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.6% | 2.4% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.4% | 3.1% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 3.6% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.6457 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.77 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6724 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5102 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.4131 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 221.03 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in Lesotho?
- Total natural resource rents in Lesotho was 4.3% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 13.7% in 1977.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 1993.
- How does Lesotho rank for total natural resource rents?
- Lesotho ranks 81st out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.