Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho

constitutional monarchyIndependence 4 October 1966 (from UK)

Lesotho as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 77 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMaseru

Area30,350 sq km

LocationSouthern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Populationas each edition published it

1.99 million July 1995 est. · 1.75m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.44% 1995 est. · 2.52% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 19.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

62.56 years 1995 est. · 61.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

4.41 children per woman 1995 est. · 4.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

67.4 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 80 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,340 1994 est. · $340 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

6% 1994 est. · 5.3% in 1993

Geography

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

14 fields

Land useshare of 30,350 sq km

arable land 10%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 66%forest and woodland 0%other 24%

Area

30,350sq km

land area: 30,350 sq kmcomparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none; landlocked

Land boundaries

909km

total · South Africa 909 km

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Climate

temperate;
cool to cold, dry winters;
hot, wet summers

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Natural resources

water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Environment

current issues:: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion;
desertification;
Highlands Water Project will control, store, and redirect water to South Africa
natural hazards:: periodic droughts
international agreements:: party to - Biodiversity, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

People

15 fields

Population

1,992,960

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 2.44% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

33.39Death

8.96Net migration

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years62.56

60.74 · 64.43

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy59%

44% · 68%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1966)

Labor force

689,000economically active

by occupation: 86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 60% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Age structure

0-14 years:: 41% (female 407,213; male 416,709)
15-64 years:: 54% (female 558,106; male 520,961)
65 years and over:: 5% (female 51,809; male 38,162) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

67.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective:: Basotho

Ethnic divisions

Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Languages

Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Government

Constitutional monarchy; King MOSHOESHOE II (since February 1995); Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)

20 fields

Names

conventional long form:: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form:: Lesotho
former:: Basutoland

Administrative divisions

10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

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

Executive branch

chief of state:: King MOSHOESHOE II (since February 1995)
head of government:: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
cabinet:: Cabinet

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consisting of the Assembly or lower house whose members are chosen by popular election and the Senate or upper house whose members consist of the 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party;
election last held in March 1993 (first since 1971);
all 65 seats in the Assembly were won by the BCP

Judicial branch

High Court, Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Court, customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders

Basotho National Party (BNP), Evaristus SEKHONYANA;
Basotho Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE;
National Independent Party (NIP), A. C. MANYELI;
Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), Vincent MALEBO;
United Democratic Party, Charles MOFELI;
Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL), Jacob M. KENA

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Mokhali A. LITHEBE (since 2 July 1994)
chancery:: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536

FAX

[1] (202) 234-6815

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Myrick BISMARCK
embassy:: address NA, Maseru
mailing address:: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone:: [266] 312666

FAX

[266] 310116

Flag

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

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important | natural resources other than water.

18 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,340

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 10%; accounts for 17% of GDP (1993 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

13.9%

(1993)

External debt

$512million

(1993)

Budget

Revenues

$438 millionExpenditures

$430 million

expenditures including capital expenditures of $155 million (FY93/94 est.)

Overview

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture, light manufacturing, and remittances from laborers employed in South Africa (these remittances supplement domestic income by as much as 45%). The great majority of households gain their livelihoods from subsistence farming and migrant labor;

a large portion of the adult male work force is employed in South African mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products to support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries; other industries include textile, clothing, and construction. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, improvement of a major hydropower facility will permit the sale of water to South Africa and allow Lesotho's economy to continue its moderate growth.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.6 billion (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate

substantial unemployment and underemployment

Exports

$109 million (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities:: wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, baskets
partners:: South Africa 42%, EC 28%, North and South America 25% (1991)

Imports

$964 million (c.i.f., 1992)

commodities:: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum
partners:: South Africa 94%, Asia 3%, EC 1% (1991)

Electricity

power supplied by South Africa

Industries

food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts, tourism

Agriculture

accounts for 50% of GDP (1993 est.);
exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock;
principal crops corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley

Economic aid

recipient:: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $268 million;
US (1992), $10.3 million;
US (1993 est.), $10.1 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $819 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $14 million

Currency

1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Exchange rates

maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.5389 (January 1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990);
note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Transportation

4 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 29 in all

over 3,047 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

7,215Railroads

2.6

Highways: paved: 572 km · unpaved: gravel, stabilized earth 2,337 km; improved earth 1,806 km; unimproved earth 2,500 km (1988) · Railroads: ; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa · narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge

Railroads

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

Highways

total:: 7,215 km
paved:: 572 km
unpaved:: gravel, stabilized earth 2,337 km;
improved earth 1,806 km;
unimproved earth 2,500 km (1988)

Ports

none

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

5,920 telephones; rudimentary system

local:: NA
intercity:: consists of a few land lines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radio communication system
international:: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station

Radio

broadcast stations:: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0
radios:: NA

Television

broadcast stations:: 1
televisions:: NA

Defense Forces

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), | Lesotho Mounted Police