Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 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.
Location
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Geographic coordinates
29 30 S, 28 30 E
Map references
Africa
Area
total
30,355 sq km
land
30,355 sq km
water
0 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries
total
909 km
border countries
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
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% (2005)
Irrigated land
30 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards
periodic droughts
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
landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Population
2,125,262
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 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303)
15-64 years
59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818)
65 years and over
5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
21.1 years
male
20.4 years
female
21.7 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
0.144% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.013 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.951 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.674 male(s)/female
total population
0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
79.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male
84.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female
75.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
39.97 years
male
40.73 years
female
39.18 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
28.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
320,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
29,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective
Basotho
Ethnic groups
Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Religions
Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Languages
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
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
local long form
Kingdom of Lesotho
local short form
Lesotho
former
Basutoland
Government type
parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital
name
Maseru
geographic coordinates
29 28 S, 27 30 E
time difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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, that 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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age
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 (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4
Judicial branch
High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court
Political parties and leaders
Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [Pheelo MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; New Lesotho Freedom Party or NLFP [Manapo MAJARA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]
2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone
[1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
FAX
[1] (202) 234-6815
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission
Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy
254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
mailing address
P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone
[266] 22 312666
FAX
[266] 22 310116
Flag description
three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence
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. However, the government has recently 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 and also generates royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. 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, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$5.327 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$1.437 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$2,600 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
16.1%
industry
43%
services
40.9% (2006 est.)
Labor force
838,000 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
industry and services
14%
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
63.2 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
32% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$778.9 million
expenditures
$734.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
250 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)
Electricity - consumption
244.5 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports
12 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
1,400 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Current account balance
-$75.44 million (2006 est.)
Exports
$779.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners
Hong Kong 29.6%, China 24%, Taiwan 22.3%, Germany 5.7%, India 5.5% (2006)
Imports
$1.401 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - partners
US 83.8%, Belgium 12.7%, Canada 2.4% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$528.2 million (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$735 million (2002)
Economic aid - recipient
$41.5 million (2000)
Currency (code)
loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
Currency code
LSL; ZAR
Exchange rates
maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use
48,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
245,100 (2005)
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)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios
NA (2002)
Television broadcast stations
1 (2000)
Televisions
NA
Internet country code
.ls
Internet hosts
168 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2000)
Internet users
43,000 (2005)
Airports
28 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
3
over 3,047 m
1
914 to 1,523 m
1
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
25
914 to 1,523 m
4
under 914 m
21 (2006)
Roadways
total
5,940 km
paved
1,087 km
unpaved
4,853 km (1999)
Military branches
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
428,982
females age 18-49
440,102 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
180,797
females age 18-49
160,681 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.6% (2006)
Military - note
the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs
