| 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. |
| Location: |
Southern Africa,
an enclave of South Africa |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| 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, some diamonds and other
minerals |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
11%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 66%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 23% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
30 sq km (1993
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;
surrounded by South Africa |
| Population: |
2,177,062
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 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994)
15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female
631,404)
65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female
59,044) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.49% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
31.24
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
15.7 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 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 (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
82.77
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 48.84 years
male: 47.97 years
female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
4.08 children
born/woman (2001 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.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary
constitutional monarchy |
| 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 (80 seats; members elected by popular vote
for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly
rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February
2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a
further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as
early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be
held NA March 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party -
LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79,
BNP 1
note: results contested; opposition parties
claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup;
Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces
intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim
Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to
create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
| 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; Dr.
Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; 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, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
chancery: 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 Katherine H. PETERSON
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
- overview: |
Small,
landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural
resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence
agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed
in South Africa. The number of such 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 substantial 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2.5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
18%
industry: 38%
services: 44% (1999) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
49.2% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
6% (2000 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 (FY99/00 est.) |
| Industries: |
food, beverages,
textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
15.5% (1999 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
0 kWh; note -
electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
0%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
55 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
corn, wheat,
pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Exports: |
$175 million
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
manufactures 75%
(clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food
and live animals (1998) |
| Exports
- partners: |
South African
Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
| Imports: |
$700 million
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food; building
materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum
products (1995) |
| Imports
- partners: |
South African
Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
| Debt
- external: |
$720 million
(2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$123.7 million
(1995) |
| Currency: |
loti (LSL); South
African rand (ZAR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
maloti per US
dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948
(1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); 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 |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
20,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
1,262 (1996) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: 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) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 2,
shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (2000) |
| Televisions: |
54,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ls |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1,000 (2000) |
| 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) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
25
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Lesotho Defense
Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho
Mounted Police (RLMP) |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 515,464 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 277,369 (2001 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. |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
