Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho

parliamentary constitutional monarchyIndependence 4 October 1966 (from UK)

Lesotho as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 115 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

Area30,355 sq km

LocationSouthern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Populationas each edition published it

1.86 million July 2003 est. · 1.75m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.19% 2003 est. · 2.52% in 1993

Median ageyears

19.8 years 2002 · 24 yrs in 2025

Life expectancyyears at birth

36.94 years 2003 est. · 61.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.52 children per woman 2003 est. · 4.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

86.21 deaths per 1,000 live births 2003 est. · 80 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$2,700 2002 est. · $340 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

4% 2002 est. · 5.3% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.

Geography

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

18 fields

Land useshare of 30,355 sq km

arable land 10.71%permanent crops 0%other 89.29% (1998 est.)irrigated 10 sq km (1998 est.)

Area

30,355sq km

water: 0 sq kmland: 30,355 sq kmslightly smaller than Maryland

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Highest point

3,482m

Thabana Ntlenyanalowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

Land boundaries

909km

border countries: South Africa 909 km

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates

29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references

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

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

People

19 fields

Population

1,861,959

growth rate: 0.19% (2003 est.)

Note

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 2003 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2003 est.)

Birth

27.26Death

24.58Net migration

-0.74

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2003 est.)36.94

36.76 · 37.13Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)86.21

91.28 · 80.99

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (2003 est.)84.8%

74.5% · 94.5%Median age years (2002)19.8

19.3 · 20.4

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

31%

(2001 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years:: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years:: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694)
65 years and over:: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

360,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

25,000 (2001 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

Government

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy; King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

54%

LCD 54%BNP 21%LPC 7%other 18%last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)

Legislature, 120 seats, elected 25 May 2002one dot, one seat

LCD 76BNP 21LPC 5other 18

Percent of vote

LCD 54%BNP 21%LPC 7%other 18%

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, 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 (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 NA 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);
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; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE];

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

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
FAX:: [1] (202) 234-6815
telephone:: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
chancery:: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
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

37 fields

Real growth rate

(2002 est.)industrial production growth: 15.5% (1999)

Inflation, consumer prices

10%

(2002 est.)

Unemployment rate

45%

(2002)

Population below poverty line

49%

(1999)

GDP - composition by sector(2001)

agriculture 20%industry 46%services 34% (2001)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

97.5%

Hong Kong

51.9%

China

25%

0.6%

France

3.9%

0.9%

Canada

Exports $422 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)Imports $738 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)(2002)

Budget

Revenues

$76 millionExpenditures

$80 million

expenditures including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.)

Electricity

Electricity consumption

40 million (2001)Electricity imports

40 million (2001)

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, but the government has 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 and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector.

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 - $5.106 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

56 (1986-87)

Labor force

838,000

Labor force - by occupation

86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

Industries

food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts;
construction;
tourism

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption

1,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports

$422 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)

Imports

$738 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)

Debt - external

$735 million (2002)

Economic aid - donor

ODA $4.4 million

Economic aid - recipient

$41.5 million (2000)

Currency

loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code

LSL; ZAR

Exchange rates

maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

8 fields

Mobile cellular

21,600

(2000)

Internet users

(2000)

Fixed lines

22,200

(2000) · country code .ls

Telephone system

general assessment:: rudimentary system
domestic:: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system;
a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
international:: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

1 (2000)

Internet users

5,000 (2002)

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

over 3,047 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

Paved 4Unpaved 24

Networkskm

Highways

5,940Railways

2.6

Highways: paved: 1,087 km · unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) · Railways: ; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa · narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)