Lesotho

§1. Lesotho Introduction

Background:
  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.

§2. Lesotho Geography

Location:
  Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates:
  29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 30,355 km²
  land: 30,355 km²
  water: 0 km²

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:
  10 km² (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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life
    Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
  signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

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

§3. Lesotho People

Population:
  2,022,331
  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 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527)
  15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846)
  65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 20.3 years
  male: 19.7 years
  female: 21 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  -0.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 34.4 years
  male: 35.55 years
  female: 33.21 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  3.28 children born/woman (2006 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.)

§4. Lesotho 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, 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; 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, 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 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 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 by 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 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]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB
  [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the
  governing party; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; 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 Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE];
  Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party
  or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
  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 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:
  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

§5. Lesotho 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. 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, 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,
  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):
  $6.064 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $1.355 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  0.8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $3,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 15.4%
  industry: 44.2%
  services: 40.4% (2005 est.)

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%: 0.9%
  highest 10%: 43.4%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  63.2 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  4.7% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  29.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $738.5 million
  expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of $15 million
    (2005 est.)

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:
  350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  363.5 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  1,400 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
  $-152.1 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $602.8 million f.o.b. (2005 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:
  $1.166 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum
  products (2000)

Imports - partners:
  Hong Kong 43%, China 23.4%, India 5.5%, South Korea 5.1%, Germany 4.4%
  (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $411 million (2005 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)

Exchange rates:
  maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407
  (2002), 8.6092 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Lesotho Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  37,200 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  159,000 (2004)

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)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (2000)

Internet country code:
  .ls

Internet hosts:
  154 (2005)

Internet users:
  43,000 (2005)

§7. Lesotho Transportation

Airports:
  28 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 3
  over 3,047 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 1
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 25
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 21 (2005)

Roadways:
  total: 5,940 km
  paved: 1,087 km
  unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)

§8. Lesotho Military

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: 400,457 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 162,857 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $41.1 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.1% (2005 est.)

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

§9. Lesotho Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none


<Factbook 2006>
