Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho

Lesotho: Wage bill as a percentage of GDP was 19.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
19.5%
Change on year
up 16.6%
World rank
6th
of 191 countries
All-time high
19.5%
in 2022
All-time low
13.0%
in 2006
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho, 2000–2022

051015202000201120222000: 16.92001: 162002: 16.22003: 15.92004: 16.42005: 13.62006: 132007: 13.22008: 13.92009: 17.82010: 16.82011: 16.22012: 15.62013: 16.92014: 15.92015: 16.32016: 17.12017: 17.82018: 18.82019: 17.42020: 17.92021: 16.72022: 19.5

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2022, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho stood at 19.5%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 16.6% on the previous year and up 24.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho peaked at 19.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 2006.

Lesotho ranks 6th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 16.9% —
2001 16.0% -5.6%
2002 16.2% +1.6%
2003 15.9% -2.0%
2004 16.4% +3.4%
2005 13.6% -17.3%
2006 13.0% -4.1%
2007 13.2% +1.4%
2008 13.9% +5.0%
2009 17.8% +28.2%
2010 16.8% -5.6%
2011 16.2% -3.3%
2012 15.6% -3.6%
2013 16.9% +8.1%
2014 15.9% -5.9%
2015 16.3% +2.7%
2016 17.1% +4.4%
2017 17.8% +4.3%
2018 18.8% +5.5%
2019 17.4% -7.2%
2020 17.9% +2.6%
2021 16.7% -6.3%
2022 19.5% +16.6%

Lesotho compared with similar countries

  • Lesotho's 19.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.3%, 3.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
  • Lesotho's 19.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.6%, 3.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.3% 13.0% 17.8% 10
2010s 16.9% 15.6% 18.8% 10
2020s 18.1% 16.7% 19.5% 3

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 3 Kiribati 38.6% compare
  2. 4 Tuvalu 31.3% compare
  3. 5 Marshall Islands 22.4% compare
  4. 7 Micronesia (country) 18.0% compare
  5. 8 Kuwait 16.8% compare
  6. 9 Vanuatu 16.6% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho?
Wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho was 19.5% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 19.5% in 2022.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 2006.
How does Lesotho rank for wage bill as a percentage of gdp?
Lesotho ranks 6th out of 191 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of gdp 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 the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho. Statizoid. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/lesotho/

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About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of GDP
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,127 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed