Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho

modified constitutional monarchyIndependence 4 October 1966 (from UK)

Lesotho as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 85 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

Position29 30 S, 28 30 E

Area30,350 sq km

LocationSouthern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Populationas each edition published it

1.97 million July 1996 est. · 1.75m in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.9% 1996 est. · 2.52% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 19.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

52.08 years 1996 est. · 61.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

4.32 children per woman 1996 est. · 4.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

81.6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1996 est. · 80 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,430 1994 est. · $340 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

13.5% 1994 est. · 5.3% in 1993

Geography

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

15 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

border country: 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

lowest point:: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point:: Mount Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

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, Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

People

15 fields

Population

1,970,781

(July 1996 est.)growth rate: 1.9% (1996 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1996 est.)

Birth

32.7Death

13.74Net migration

Male · female(1996 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years52.08

50.08 · 54.14

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy71.3%

81.1% · 62.3%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years:: 41% (male 404,733; female 402,813)
15-64 years:: 54% (male 519,493; female 553,618)
65 years and over:: 5% (male 37,237; female 52,887) (July 1996 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages:: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate

81.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 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

Modified constitutional monarchy; King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)

22 fields

Name of country

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 LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996);
the king is the former Crown Prince David Monato BERENG Seeiso and succeeded his father King MOSHOESHOE II, who died in an automobile accident on 16 January 1996;
King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne (November 1990 to February 1995) while his father was in exile

note: the king is a hereditary monarch, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, he has no executive or legislative powers;

moreover, under traditional law the king can be elected or deposed by a majority vote of the College of Chiefs

head of government:: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
cabinet:: Cabinet

Senate

consists of 33 members (the 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party)

Assembly

members elected by popular vote;
election last held NA March 1993 (next to be held NA);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats (65 total) BCP 65

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

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, 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, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Dr. Eunice M. BULANE
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 Bismarck MYRICK
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.

20 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,430

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

13.5%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: 12.5% (1994 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

9.5%

(January 1995)

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

GDP composition by sector(1993)

agriculture 10.4%industry 48.8%services 40.8% (1993)

Budget

Revenues

$445 millionExpenditures

$400 million

expenditures including capital expenditures of $128 million (FY94/95 est.)

Economic 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 which support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. 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 will support the economy's continued expansion.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate

substantial unemployment and underemployment

Industries

food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts;
construction;
tourism

Electricity

power supplied by South Africa

Agriculture

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports

$142 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities:: clothing, furniture, footwear, wool
partners:: South Africa 39%, EC 22%, North and South America 33% (1993)

Imports

$1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

commodities:: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
partners:: South Africa 83%, Asia 12%, EC 3% (1993)

External debt

$512 million (1993)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency

1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Exchange rates

maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January 1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991);
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

5,324Railways

2.6

Highways: paved: 799 km · unpaved: 4,525 km (1993 est.) · Railways: ; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa · narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge

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

Highways

total:: 5,324 km
paved:: 799 km
unpaved:: 4,525 km (1993 est.)

Ports

none

Communications

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

9 fields

Fixed lines

12,000

(1991 est.)

Telephone system

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)

males age 15-49:: 455,218
males fit for military service:: 245,774 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Central Intelligence Agency. “Lesotho.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/lesotho/1996.

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