Lesotho

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

agricultural land:

76.1%;

• arable land 10.1%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 65.9%

forest:

1.5%

other:

22.4% (2011 est.)

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective:

Basotho

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.14 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.03 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

total:

34.4%

male:

NA

female:

NA (2013 est.)

country comparison to the world: 18

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form:

Lesotho

local long form:

Kingdom of Lesotho

local short form:

Lesotho

former:

Basutoland

etymology:

the name translates as "Land of the Sesotho Speakers"

name:

Maseru

geographic coordinates:

29 19 S, 27 29 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1959, 1967; latest adopted 2 April 1993 (effectively restoring the 1967 version)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage of amendments affecting constitutional provisions including fundamental rights and freedoms, sovereignty of the kingdom, the office of the king, and powers of Parliament requires a majority vote by the National Assembly, approval by the Senate, approval in a referendum by a majority of qualified voters, and assent by the king;
• passage of amendments other than those specified provisions requires at least a two-thirds majority vote in both Parliament houses;
• amended several times, last in 2011 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

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 Thomas Motsoahae Thomas THABANE (since 16 June 2017)

cabinet:

consists of the Prime Minister, appointed by the King on the advice of the Council of State, and 25 other Ministers

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary, but under the terms of the constitution that 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, to determine next in line of succession, or to serve as regent in the event that a successor is not of mature age;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister

description:

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 seats; 22 principal chiefs and 11 other senators nominated by the king with the advice of the Council of State, a 13-member body of key government and non-government officials; members serve 5-year terms) and the National Assembly (120 seats; 80 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 40 elected through proportional representation; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 3 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results:

• National Assembly - percent of votes by party - ABC 40.5%, DC 25.8%, LCD 9.0%, AD 7.3%, MEC 5.1%, BNP 4.1, PFD 2.3%, other 5.9%;
• seats by party - ABC 48, DC 30, LCD 11, AD 9, MEC 6, BNP 5, PFD 3, other 5, vacant 3

highest court(s):

• Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, such number of justices of appeal as set by Parliament, and the Chief Justice and the puisne judges of the High Court ex officio);
• High Court (consists of the chief justice and such number of puisne judges as set by Parliament);
• note - both the Court of Appeal and the High Court have jurisdiction in constitutional issues

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Appeal president and High Court chief justice appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister;
• puisne judges appointed by the monarch on advice of the Judicial Service Commission, an independent body of judicial officers and officials designated by the monarch;
• judges of both courts can serve until age 75

subordinate courts:

• Magistrate Courts;
• customary or traditional courts;
• military courts

• All Basotho Convention or ABC [Motsoahae Thomas THABANE]
• Alliance of Democrats or AD [Monyane MOLELEKI]
• Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Thulo MAHLAKENG]
• Basotho National Party or BNP [Thesele MASERIBANE]
• Democratic Congress or DC [Pakalitha MOSISILI]
• Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Mothetjoa METSING]
• Lesotho Peoples Congress or LPC [Mabusetsa MAKHARILELE]
• Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Tlhoriso LEKATSA]
• Movement of Economic Change or MEC [Selibe MOCHOBOROANE]
• National Independent Party or NIP [Kimetso MATHABA]
• Popular Front for Democracy of PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]
• Reformed Congress of Lesotho or RCL [Keketso RANTSO]
• Truth Reconciliation Unity or TRU [Tlali KHASU]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eliachim Molapi SEBATANE (since 18 January 2012)

chancery:

2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-5533

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-6815

chief of mission:

Ambassador Matthew T. HARRINGTON (October 2014)

embassy:

254 Kingsway Road, Maseru West (Consular Section)

mailing address:

P.O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho

telephone:

[266] 22 312 666

FAX:

[266] 22 310 116

• three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3;
• the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively;
• centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people;
• the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence

name:

"Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona" (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers)

lyrics/music:

Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR

note: adopted 1967; music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook

agriculture:

86%

industry and services:

14%

note: most of the resident population is engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa (2002 est.)

lowest 10%:

1%

highest 10%:

39.4% (2003)

general assessment:

• rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
• mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding

domestic:

• Econet Telecom Lesotho provides telecom services;
• fixed-line density is low;
• mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 115 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

• 1 state-owned TV station and 2 state-owned radio stations;
• government controls most private broadcast media;
• satellite TV subscription service available;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters obtainable (2008)

total:

5,940 km

paved:

1,069 km

unpaved:

4,871 km (2011)

country comparison to the world: 150

• 18-24 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• women serve as commissioned officers (2012)

• Lesotho's declared policy for its military is the maintenance of the country's sovereignty and the preservation of internal security;
• in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa

current situation:

• Lesotho is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and for men subjected to forced labor;
• in Lesotho and South Africa, Basotho women and children are subjected to domestic servitude, and Basotho children increasingly endure commercial sexual exploitation;
• some Basotho men who voluntarily migrate to South Africa for work become victims of forced labor in agriculture and mining or are coerced into committing crimes;
• foreign nationals continue to traffic fellow citizens in Lesotho

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Lesotho does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, Lesotho was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• the government failed to initiate any prosecutions against alleged traffickers and has not convicted any offenders under the 2011 anti-trafficking act, which remains unimplemented for a fifth year;
• authorities did not develop formal victim identification and referral procedures, did not establish victim care centers, as required under the 2011 anti-trafficking act, and did not support NGOs offering victims protective services (2015)