New report reveals Maseru generates half of Lesotho’s GDP

Abstract

New report reveals Maseru generates half of Lesotho’s GDP. The report, developed by the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), was validated by Lesotho’s national and local government officials, data specialists, national account experts, development experts and urbanisation practitioners at a workshop in Maseru on 25 July 2022. Addressing the workshop, Ms. Molato Celina, Director General of Lesotho Bureau of Statistics, said: “This report, which was initiated by ECA, marks an important milestone in the area of economic statistics, particularly since the measurement of the size of city economies is an important component of development planning.” She added: “Estimates produced in this report are vital for various government stakeholders such as city administration, ministry of development planning and ministry of finance, to formulate and monitor economic policy and allocate resources.” This report is part of a wider ECA initiative which promotes city-level disaggregation of statistics in Africa and is currently supporting Accra, Harare, Kigali, Lusaka, Maseru and Yaoundé.