1998 Edition

Area

total: 30,350 sq km land: 30,350 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area-comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation extremes

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

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

Geographic coordinates

29 30 S, 28 30 E

Geography-note

landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

Irrigated land

30 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km

Land use

arable land: 11% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: NA% other: 23% (1993 est.)

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

periodic droughts

Natural resources

water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

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.)

Birth rate

31.84 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate

12.76 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Ethnic groups

Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Infant mortality rate

78.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Languages

Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 53.97 years male: 52.18 years female: 55.81 years (1998 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 71.3% male: 81.1% female: 62.3% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Population

2,089,829 (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate

1.91% (1998 est.)

Religions

Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

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.)

Total fertility rate

4.13 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Administrative divisions

10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Constitution

2 April 1993

Country name

conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland

Data code

LT

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

FAX

[1] (202) 234-6815 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

[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

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Independence

4 October 1966 (from UK)

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

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]

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

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

National capital

Maseru

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal (constitutional amendment, July 1997)

Agriculture-products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Budget

revenues: $507 million expenditures: $487 million, including capital expenditures of $170 million (FY96/97 est.)

Currency

1 loti (L) = 100 lisente note: maloti (M) is the plural form of loti

Debt-external

$517 million (FY95/96 est.)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

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.

Electricity-capacity

0 kW (1995) note: electricity supplied by South Africa

Electricity-consumption per capita

163 kWh (1995)

Electricity-production

0 kWh (1995) note: electricity supplied by South Africa

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

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)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March Communications

GDP

purchasing power parity-$5.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector

agriculture: 10% industry: 53% services: 37% (1997)

GDP-per capita

purchasing power parity-$2,500 (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate

9% (1997 est.)

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)

Industrial production growth rate

19.7% (1995)

Industries

food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Inflation rate-consumer price index

8.7% (1996 est.)

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

Radio broadcast stations

AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios

66,000

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)

Telephones

12,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1

Televisions

11,000 (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate

substantial unemployment and underemployment effecting more than half of the labor force (1996 est.)

Airports

29 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 22 (1997 est.)

Highways

total: 4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996 est.) Ports and harbors: none

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 branches

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

Military expenditures-dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures-percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower-availability

males age 15-49: 490,128 (1998 est.) Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 264,255 (1998 est.)

Current 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.

Disputes-international

none Introduction