Map of Lesotho | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990 but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998 violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.


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Location: Southern Africa an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S 28 30 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 30,355 km²
Land: 30,355 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 909 km
Border countries: (1) South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; cool to cold dry winters; hot wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus hills and mountains

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
Extremes highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources: water agricultural and grazing land diamonds sand clay building stone

Land use
Arable land: 10.87%
Permanent crops: 0.13%
Other: 89% (2001)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous more than 80% of the country is 1800 meters above sea level


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Population
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 0.08% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: 49% (1999)

Nationality
Noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
Adjective: Basotho

Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7% Europeans Asians and other 0.3%

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho) English (official) Zulu Xhosa

Religions: Christian 80% indigenous beliefs 20%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459)
15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female 60,905) (2005 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 20.19 years
Male: 19.68 years
Female: 20.74 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.08% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 26.53 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 25.03 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing severe soil erosion and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls stores and redirects water to South Africa
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2005 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 84.23 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 89.11 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 79.21 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 34.47 years
Male: 35.49 years
Female: 33.42 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.35 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 28.9% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 320,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 29,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 84.8%
Male: 74.5%
Female: 94.5% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
Conventional short form: Lesotho
Former: Basutoland

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea Butha-Buthe Leribe Mafeteng Maseru Mohale's Hoek Mokhotlong Qacha's Nek Quthing Thaba-Tseka

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 2 April 1993

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
Head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)
Cabinet: Cabinet
Elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a 'living symbol of national unity' with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007)
Election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18

Judicial branch: High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders: Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU C The Commonwealth FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC ISO (subscriber) ITU MIGA NAM OPCW SACU SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
In the us chancery: 2,511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 797-5,533 through 5,536
In the us fax: [1] (202) 234-6,815
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
From the us embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
From the us telephone: [266] 22 312,666
From the us fax: [266] 22 310,116

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Small landlocked and mountainous Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling canning leather and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The garment industry has grown significantly mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture especially livestock although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $5.892 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.3% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 15.2%
Industry: 43.9%
Services: 40.9% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products: corn wheat pulses sorghum barley; livestock

Industries: food beverages textiles apparel assembly handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 15.5% (1999)

Labor force: 838,000 (2000)
By occupation: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate: 45% (2002)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 49% (1999)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 0.9%
Highest 10: 43.4%

Distribution of family income gini index: 56 (1986-87)

Budget
Revenues: $698.5 million
Expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2004 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.3% (2004 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: $-108.3 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $484.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing footwear road vehicles) wool and mohair food and live animals (2000)
Partners: US 97% Canada 2.1% UK 0.3% (2004)

Imports: $730.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: food; building materials vehicles machinery medicines petroleum products (2000)
Partners: Hong Kong 46.8% China 25.5% South Korea 5.6% Germany 4.8% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $402.2 million (2004 est.)

Debt external: $735 million (2002)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004) 7.5648 (2003) 10.5407 (2002) 8.6092 (2001) 6.9398 (2000)


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Electricity
Production: 314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Consumption: 308 million kWh (2002)
Exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Imports: 16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 28,600 (2002)
Mobile cellular: 92,000 (2002)

Telephone system
General assessment: rudimentary system
Domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
International: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ls
Hosts: 119 (2003)
Users: 21,000 (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $32.3 million (2004)
Percent of gdp: 2.3% (2004)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 28 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 25
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs