Lesotho
Kingdom of Lesotho
parliamentary constitutional monarchyIndependence 4 October 1966 (from UK)
Lesotho as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 94 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
18 fieldsLand useshare of 30,350 sq km
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, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
- signed, but not ratified:
- Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1998 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 40% (male 420,526; female 419,059)
- 15-64 years:
- 55% (male 558,068; female 596,598)
- 65 years and over:
- 5% (male 39,782; female 55,796) (July 1998 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.93 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.71 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Government
Parliamentary constitutional monarchy; King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996, succeeded to the throne following the death of his father, King MOSHOESHOE II, on 16 January 1996); Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
20 fieldsLegislature, 65 seats, elected 27 March 1993one dot, one seat
Country name
- 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, succeeded to the throne following the death of his father, King MOSHOESHOE II, on 16 January 1996);
- note-King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne (November 1990 to February 1995) while his father was in exile
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet
- elections:
- none;
- 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;
- following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats usually becomes prime minister
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 (65 seats; members elected for a five-year term by popular vote)
- elections:
- last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held in May 1998)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-BCP 65
note: due to a schism in the BCP, Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE formed the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD in June 1997, taking 42 seats away from the BCP, reducing it to 23 seats and the role of an opposition party
Judicial branch
- High Court, Chief Justice appointed by the king;
- Court of Appeal;
- Magistrate's Court;
- customary or traditional court
Political parties and leaders
- ruling party:
- Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Dr. Ntsu MOKHEHLE, leader; Shakhane MOKHEHLE, secretary general]
- opposition party:
- Basotho National Party or BNP [Evaristus SEKHONYANA];
- Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Molapo QHOBELA];
- Ha Reeng ('Let's Go') Basotho Party or HBP [Khauta KHASU];
- Lesotho Labor Party or LLP [Mamolefi RANTHIMO];
- Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO];
- National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE, leader];
- Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE];
- United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]
International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFCTU, 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 the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Dr. Eunice M. BULANE
- chancery:
- 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Bismarck MYRICK
- embassy:
- 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
- telephone:
- [266] 312666
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
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no | important natural resources other than water.
28 fieldsGDP-composition by sector(1997)
Economy-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 miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mine workers has declined steadily over the past five years;
in 1996 their remittances added about 33% to GDP compared with the addition of roughly 67% in 1990. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products which support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Recent foreign investments will enable Lesotho to export garments made from imported textiles.
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 and will support the economy's continued expansion. The pace of the privatization of state-owned firms increased toward the end of 1994.
Labor force
- total:
- 689,000 economically active
- by occupation:
- 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Unemployment rate
substantial unemployment and underemployment effecting more than half of the labor force (1996 est.)
Exports
- total value:
- $218 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
- commodities:
- clothing, wool, footwear, road vehicles, mohair (1995)
- partners:
- South African Customs Union 52%, North America 38%, EU 9% (1995)
Imports
- total value:
- $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
- commodities:
- corn, clothing, building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1993)
- partners:
- South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 6%, EU 2% (1995)
Exchange rates
- maloti (M) per US$1-4.94193 (January 1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996), 3.62709 (1995), 3.55080 (1994), 3.26774 (1993);
- note-the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand
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)
Transportation
6 fieldsNetworkskm
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)
Military
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air | Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP)
5 fieldsMilitary branches
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP)
Transnational Issues
1 fieldIntroduction
1 fieldCurrent issues
The Abuja Peace Accords ended seven years of civil warfare in Liberia. More than 20,000 of the estimated 33,000 factional fighters gave up their arms to the Cease-Fire Monitoring Group of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOMOG). Free and open presidential and legislative elections were held 19 July 1997;
former faction leader, Charles TAYLOR, and his National Patriotic Party won overwhelming victories. The years of civil strife coupled with the flight of most business people disrupted formal economic activity, but with peace restored and a popularly-elected government installed, the difficult task of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country can proceed.
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Lesotho.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/lesotho/1998.