Lesotho

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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.

Table of contents

1 Geography 2 People 3 Government 4 Economy 5 Communications 6 Transportation 7 Military 8 Transnational Issues

Geography

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
water: 0 sq km
land: 30,355 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, some diamonds and other minerals

Land use 

arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 89.29% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

10 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Environment - international agreements 

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Geography - note 

landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level

People

Population 

2,207,954
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 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

1.33% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 47 years
female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
male: 46.3 years

Total fertility rate 

4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

23.57% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 

240,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths 

16,000 (1999 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: 83%
male: 72%
female: 93% (1999 est.)

Government

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 

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 direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
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]

Political pressure groups and leaders 

NA

International organization participation 

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, 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. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone: [266] 312666
FAX: [266] 310116

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

Economy - overview 

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. 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, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions.

GDP 

purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

2.6% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 18%
industry: 38%
services: 44% (2001)

Population below poverty line 

49% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 

56 (1986-87 )

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

6.9% (2001 est.)

Labor force 

700,000 economically active

Labor force - 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% (2000 est.)

Budget 

revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million

Industries 

food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate 

15.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production 

0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)

Electricity - consumption 

100 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 

100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)

Agriculture - products 

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports 

$250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Exports - commodities 

manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals

Exports - partners 

South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999)

Imports 

$720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Imports - commodities 

food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products

Imports - partners 

South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999)

Debt - external 

$715 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient 

$123.7 million (1995) (1995)

Currency 

loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code 

LSL; ZAR

Exchange rates 

maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti

Fiscal year 

1 April - 31 March

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

22,200 (2000)

Telephones - 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)

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 Service Providers (ISPs) 

1 (2000)

Internet users 

5,000 (2002)

Transportation

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)

Highways 

total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km
unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)

Waterways 

none

Ports and harbors 

none

Airports 

28 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2002)

Military

Military branches 

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police

Military manpower - availability 

males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service 

males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$34 million (1999)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

NA%

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.

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

none