Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule.

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 30,350 km²
Land: 30,350 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: Mount Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Land use
Arable land: 11%
Permanent crops: NA%
Permanent pastures: 66%
Forests and woodland: NA%
Other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

Population: 2,089,829 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 1.91% (1998 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

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

Religions: Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Age structure
0-14 years: 40% (male 420,526; female 419,059)
15-64 years: 55% (male 558,068; female 596,598)
65 years and over: 5% (male 39,782; female 55,796) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.91% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 31.84 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 12.76 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

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, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 78.3 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 53.97 years
Male: 52.18 years
Female: 55.81 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.13 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 71.3%
Male: 81.1%
Female: 62.3% (1995 est.)

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

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (constitutional amendment, July 1997)

Executive branch
Chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996, succeeded to the throne following the death of his father, King MOSHOESHOE II, on 16 January 1996); note_King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne (November 1990 to February 1995) while his father was in exile: ead of
Government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
Cabinet: Cabinet
Elections: none; the king is a hereditary monarch, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, he has no executive or legislative powers; moreover, under traditional law the king can be elected or deposed by a majority vote of the College of Chiefs; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats usually becomes prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members_22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (65 seats; members elected for a five-year term by popular vote)
Elections: last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held in May 1998)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_BCP 65
Note: due to a schism in the BCP, Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE formed the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD in June 1997, taking 42 seats away from the BCP, reducing it to 23 seats and the role of an opposition party

Judicial branch: High Court, Chief Justice appointed by the king; Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFCTU, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Eunice M. BULANE
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 Bismarck MYRICK
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] 312,666
From the us fax: [266] 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

Economy overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture, light manufacturing, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mine workers has declined steadily over the past five years; in 1996 their remittances added about 33% to GDP compared with the addition of roughly 67% in 1990. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products which support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Recent foreign investments will enable Lesotho to export garments made from imported textiles. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa and will support the economy's continued expansion. The pace of the privatization of state-owned firms increased toward the end of 1994.

Real gdp growth rate: 9% (1997 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $2,500 (1997 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 10%
Industry: 53%
Services: 37% (1997)

Agriculture products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 19.7% (1995)

Labor force
Total: 689,000 economically active
By occupation: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment effecting more than half of the labor force (1996 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $507 million
Expenditures: $487 million, including capital expenditures of $170 million (FY96/97 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Exports: total value:$218 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodoties: clothing, wool, footwear, road vehicles, mohair (1995)
Partners: South African Customs Union 52%, North America 38%, EU 9% (1995)

Imports: total value:$1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
Commodoties: corn, clothing, building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1993)
Partners: South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 6%, EU 2% (1995)

Debt external: $517 million (FY95/96 est.)

Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1_4.94193 (January 1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996), 3.62709 (1995), 3.55080 (1994), 3.26774 (1993; note_the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Electricity
Capacity: 0 kW (1995)
Capacity note: electricity supplied by South Africa
Production: 0 kWh (1995)
Production note: electricity supplied by South Africa
Consumption per capita: 163 kWh (1995)

Telephones: 12,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: rudimentary system
Domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
International: satellite earth station_1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 29 (1997 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 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 26
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 22 (1997 est.)

Railways
Total: 2.6 km; note_owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
Narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)

Disputes international: none