1985 Edition

Agriculture

fruits, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, tobacco, olives, onions; not selfsufficient in food

exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops are corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley

Airfields

9 total, 7 usable; 5 with permanentsurface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; major military airfields are Riyaq, Kleiat, and al-Fidar Air Strip

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

executive, divided between a largely ceremonial King and a Prime Minister who leads Cabinet of at least seven members; Prime Minister dismissed bicameral legislature in early 1970 and subsequently appointed Interim National Assembly to act as legislative branch; judicial— 63 Lesotho courts administer customary law for Africans, High Court and subordinate courts have criminal jurisdiction over all residents. Court of Appeal at Maseru has appellate jurisdiction

Budget

(1984 est.) public revenues, $500 million; public expenditures, $1.3 billion

(FY83/84) revenues, $160 million; current expenditures, $130 million; development (capital) expenditures, $50 million

Capital

Maseru

Civil air

28 major transport aircraft

Communists

the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000

negligible, Communist Party of Lesotho banned in early 1970

Elections

elections held in January 1970; nullified allegedly because of election irregularities; elections promised in 1985 Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP), Leabua Jonathan; Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu Mokhehle; Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), C. D. Molapo; National Independent Party (NIP), A. C. Manyeli

Electric power

922,000 kW capacity (1984); 1.212 billion kWh produced (1984), 465 kWh per capita

2,000 kW capacity (1984); 1 million kWh produced (1984), 6 kWh per capita

Ethnic dromons

99.7% Sotho; 1,600 Europeans, 800 Asians

Exports

$690 million (f.o.b., 1983)

labor to South Africa (deferred remittances $94 million est. in 1983); $30 million (f.o.b., 1983), wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, tourism

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

1 April-31 March Communications

GDP

$4.2 billion (1980 est.)

GNP

$640 million (1982), $455 per capita

Government leaders

MOSHOESHOE II, King (since 1966); Dr. Leabua JONATHAN, Prime Minister (since April 1965)

Highways

7,370 km total; 6,270 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km improved earth

Imports

$3.3 billion (f.o.b., 1983)

$450 million (f.o.b., 1983); mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, petroleum, oil, and lubricants

Labor force

426,000 economically active (1976); 87.4% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; 150,000-250,000 spend from six months to many years as wage earners in South Africa

Land boundaries

805 km People

Language

Sesotho (southern Sotho) and English (official); also Zulu and Xhosa

Legal system

based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; constitution came into effect 1966; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; legal education at National University of Lesotho; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Literacy

55%

Major industries

service industries, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, some metal fabricating, tourism

none

Major trade partner

South Africa; member of Southern African Customs Union

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO Economy

Af DB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD. ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1982, $272 million; 26% of central government budget 50 km See regional mip VII Land 30,460 km2; slightly larger than Maryland; 15% cultivable, 13% arable, largely mountainous

Monetary conversion rate

7.6 Lebanese pounds=US$l (October 1984)

the Lesotho maloti exchanges at par with the South African rand; 2.1 maloti = US$1 (30 December 1984)

National holiday

4 October

Nationality

noun — Mosotho(sing.), Basotho (pi.); adjective — Basotho

Official name

Kingdom of Lesotho

Organized labor

negligible Government

Pipelines

crude oil, 72 km

Political subdivisions

10 administrative districts

Population

1,512,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 2.5%

Ports

3 major (Beirut, Tripoli, Sayda), 5 minor

Railroads

378 km total; 296 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 82 km 1.050-meter gauge; all single track; most not in use

1.6 km; owned, operated, and included in the statistics of the Republic of

Religion

80% Christian, rest indigenous beliefs

Suffrage

universal for adults

Telecommunications

rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of radio relay, cable; approx 150,400 telephones (5.0 per 100 popl.); 3 FM, 5 AM, 15 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean and i Atlarltic Ocean statellite station, both inactive; 3. submarine coaxial cable and radio-relay to Jordan and Syria inoperable Defense Forces

Type

constitutional monarchy under King Moshoeshoe II; independent member of Commonwealth

Voting strength

(1965 election) National Assembly—BNP, 32 seats, BCP, 22 seats; minor parties, 4 seats