SOUTHERN AFRICA · INVESTMENT GUIDE

Lesotho: investment climate and market data

Lesotho scores 47 out of 100 on the Invest Global investability score (elevated), ranking 150 of 199 countries. Its strongest pillar is macro and financial stability (81) and its weakest is openness to foreign investment (30).

47/ 100 · Elevated · grade C · High confidence
GDP
$2.6 billion
2025 · World Bank
Real GDP growth
2.0%
2025 · World Bank
Inflation
4.3%
2025 · World Bank
FDI inflows
1.3% of GDP
2025 · World Bank
Government debt
49% of GDP
2025 · IMF
Reserves
5.5 months of imports
2024 · World Bank
Population
2.4 million
2025 · World Bank
GDP per person
$1,089
2025 · World Bank

Why Lesotho scores 47

Institutions and rule of law25%39
Openness to foreign investment20%30
Macro and financial stability18%81
Political stability and security10%61
Growth and upside12%44
Market depth and infrastructure15%36

Six weighted pillars from World Bank, OECD and IMF indicators. See the method, weights and every country.

Openness to foreign investors

The OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index for Lesotho is 0.41 on a scale from 0 (fully open) to 1 (closed), as of 2025. That indicates meaningful restrictions on foreign equity, screening or operations.

Where Lesotho is most exposed by sector

Infrastructure and Logistics
72
High exposure
Agriculture and Food
66
High exposure
Industrials and Manufacturing
64
High exposure
Healthcare
58
High exposure

Exposure scores show how important each sector is to the economy, not how attractive it is to invest in. Browse all sectors.

Natural resources

4 mines and deposits are mapped in Lesotho. Power capacity is 0.1 GW. See the minerals, mines and power plants.

Go deeper on Lesotho

The interactive profile adds ownership rules, residency routes, FDI flows and infrastructure. The Terminal lets you screen and compare 199 markets side by side and export the data. Need a tailored view of one market?

Educational research, not investment, legal or tax advice. Scores are screening tools built from public data and are not forecasts or ratings. Figures are the latest available from the named source and may lag. Confirm everything with local advisers before committing capital. Sources: World Bank WDI and WGI, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD. Data as of 2026-10-09.