Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. 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 South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S 28 30 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 30,355 km²
Water: 0 km²
Land: 30,355 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 some diamonds and other minerals

Land use
Arable land: 10.71%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 89.29% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1998 est.)

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

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 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.19% (2003 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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 19.8 years
Male: 19.3 years
Female: 20.4 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.19% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 27.26 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 24.58 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 86.21 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 80.99 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 91.28 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 36.94 years
Male: 36.76 years
Female: 37.13 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 31% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 360,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 25,000 (2001 est.)

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

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 NA 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); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders: Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB C ECA FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC ITU NAM OAU OPCW SACU SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
In the us fax: [1] (202) 234-6,815
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 797-5,533 through 5,536
In the us chancery: 2,511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
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 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 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 growth rate: 4% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 20%
Industry: 46%
Services: 34% (2001)

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
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)

Population below poverty line: 49% (1999)

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: $76 million
Expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 10% (2002 est.)

Exports: $422 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing footwear road vehicles) wool and mohair food and live animals (2000)
Partners: US 97.5% Canada 0.9% France 0.6% (2002)

Imports: $738 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: food; building materials vehicles machinery medicines petroleum products (2000)
Partners: Hong Kong 51.9% China 25% France 3.9% (2002)

Debt external: $735 million (2002)

Exchange rates: maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002) 8.61 (2001) 6.94 (2000) 6.11 (1999) 5.53 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)
Consumption: 40 million kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 22,200 (2000)
Mobile cellular: 21,600 (2000)

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

Internet
Country code: .ls
Service providers isps: 1 (2000)
Users: 5,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $34 million (1999)
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 28 (2002)
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 24
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2002)

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)

Waterways: none

Disputes international: none