Telecom Tycoon Bets On Mobile Wallet

NEWSMAKERS By Erik Heinrich Zimbabwe’s Strive Masiyiwa is a man who knows a thing or two about setting lofty goals and achieving them. The wireless communications tycoon is already his country’s richest man and only billionaire, but his latest business ...

 
 
Source
Central bank

Central Bank of Lesotho

International Reserves

USD 0.7 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 2.8 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 6.9 billion (2018, estimate)

Real GDP growth
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
5% 5.5% 3.1% 6.3% 6.7% 4.9% 2.2%
2014 2015 2016* 2017* 2018*    
3% 2.5% 3.1% -1.6% 1.5%    

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 1,357.8 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 3,394.5 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2019*
0.0% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.005%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 6.1% 
  • industry: 32% 
  • services: 52.5%

(2017 estimate)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)

N/A

 

Inflation
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
4.3% 6.2% 4.5% 4.7% 5.9%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

*Estimate

Household saving rates

N/A

 

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
43.2% 37% 37.1% 44.5% 45.9%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
-1.2% -8% -3.4% -5.1% -4.1%

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: N/A

Moody's: N/A

Standard & Poor's / Moody's

Market value of publicly traded shares
2016 2017 2018
N/A N/A N/A
Largest companies

N/A

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD -0.2 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

-8.6 % (2018 estimate)

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)

41.7% (2016)

Shares in world total merchandising export

0.01% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export

0.0005% (2018)

Total exports

USD 1.2 billion (2018)

Export commodities

Manufactures (clothing, footwear), wool and mohair, food and live animals, electricity, water, diamonds

Total imports

USD 2.3 billion (2018 estimate)

 
 
Source
Import commodities

Food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products

Exports - major partners

South Africa 57%, US 33.5% (2017)

Imports - major partners

South Africa 87.2% (2017)

FDI inflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 48 million USD 43 million USD 39 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2015 2016 2017 2018
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

N/A

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

N/A

Best countries for doing business

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

122 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 84 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 165 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 158 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 114 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 94 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 147 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 110 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 40 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 99 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 126 out of 190 countries

Global competitiveness ranking

131 out of 141 countries

(2019)

Index of Economic Freedom

Ranking: 142 / Score: 53.1 (Mostly unfree)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+2

Total area

30,355 sq km

Capital

Maseru

Currency

Maloti (LSL)

Government type

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Languages

Sesotho (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Religions

Protestant 47.8% (Pentecostal 23.1%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 7.4%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, other Christian 9.1%, non-Christian 1.4%, none 2.3% (2014 est.)

Total population
1990 2000 2010 2015 2020*
1.62 million 1.87 million 1.93 million 1.99 million 2.06 million

*Estimate 

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2018
3.5% 11.5% 19.5% 28.2%
Population median age

24.4 years

Population growth rate

0.24% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

53 years

Literacy

Total population: 79.4% 
Male: 70.1% 
Female: 88.3%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

78.1% (last available estimate, 2010)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

54.2 (last available estimate, 2010)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Partly Free
Political Rights: 3
Civil Liberties: 3 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)                 

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed: 0.4% Mobile: 0% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

29 % (2017)

Mercer Cost of living index

N/A

CO2 emissions

1.21 metric tons per capita (2014)

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