Despite ‘bad’ economic conditions, Basotho increasingly optimistic about the future

Although a majority of Basotho say the country’s and their personal economic conditions are bad, they are increasingly hopeful that things will improve in the coming year, according to a new Afrobarometer survey.

The recent African Economic Outlook Report for Lesotho (2014), revealed that the country`s economy grew by 3.4% in 2013 which was well below the estimated 2012 growth rate of 6.5%. It is however expected to grow by about 4.4% in the next two years. The country`s economy suffered significantly from high poverty levels, with 57% of households living below the poverty line, high unemployment rate (25%) and also registered a high Gini coefficient of 0.51.

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