Two-way investment brief
Australia–Lesotho
Lesotho direct investment in Australia
—
Total Lesotho investment in Australia
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Australian direct investment in Lesotho
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Total Australian investment in Lesotho
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Trend
Direct investment in both directions
- Lesotho in Australia
- Australia in Lesotho
Source: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (5352.0).
- Direct investment
- Portfolio investment
- Other investment
Source: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (5352.0).
Net transactions during the year; negative = net disinvestment
- Lesotho → Australia
- Australia → Lesotho
Source: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (5352.0).
Economic outlook
Lesotho’s economy
| IMF World Economic Outlook | 2024 | 2025 | 2026forecast | 2027forecast | 2028forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth | 4.9% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.4% |
| Inflation | 5.2% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 3.9% | 4.0% |
| Current account, % GDP | 2.1% | −3.3% | −3.4% | −2.3% | −1.4% |
| Fiscal balance, % GDP | 8.2% | 2.2% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 4.4% |
| Government gross debt, % GDP | 52.8% | 49.1% | 49.0% | 48.6% | 48.1% |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook via the IMF DataMapper API. Years from 2026 are IMF projections; recent years may be estimates and are revised in each WEO round (April and October).
2025 at a glance
- New FDI from Lesotho
- —
- New Australian FDI in Lesotho
- —
- Direct investment income paid to investors
- —
- Direct investment income earned by Australians
- —
Lesotho globally (World Bank)
- FDI outflows, 1989
- $0 k · 106th
- FDI inflows, 2025
- −$6 m
- GDP, 2025
- $2.6 bn
- Region · income
- Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Regulatory openness (OECD FDIRRI)
OECD index data loading — see FDI openness
Sources: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (cat. 5352.0), 2025 release, released 2026-05-06 — levels at 31 December and calendar-year flows and income, A$ millions, immediate counterparty basis (investment routed via third economies is attributed to the intermediate economy). World Bank WDI (US$). OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index. np = not published for confidentiality; included in totalsPrepared independently by FDIstats from public statistics; not an Australian Government publication and not investment advice. For foreign investment rules, see the Treasury and FIRB.