Guide to Lesotho Introduction 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.
Geography Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total
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
Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Land use: arable land
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
Geography - note: landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
People Population: 1,867,035 note
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.08% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 26.53 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 25.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 3.35 children born/woman (2005 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
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
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
Executive branch: chief of state
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
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]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
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
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
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 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.892 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 838,000 (2000)
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% (2002)
Population below poverty line: 49% (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 56 (1986-87)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 39.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 15.5% (1999)
Electricity - production: 314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - consumption: 308 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 1,500 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Current account balance: $-108.3 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $484.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners: US 97%, Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004)
Imports: $730.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)
Imports - 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)
Economic aid - donor: ODA $4.4 million
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 - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 28,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 92,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
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: 119 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 21,000 (2002)
Transportation Highways: total
Airports: 28 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $32.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.3% (2004)
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
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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