Edition 2003 — Lesotho — World Factbook

Administrative divisions

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

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.)

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Airports

28 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways

over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1
total: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2002) Military Lesotho

Area

land: 30,355 sq km
total: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

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 Lesotho

Birth rate

27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Budget

expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.)
revenues: $76 million

Capital

Maseru

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Constitution

2 April 1993

Country name

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

Currency

loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code

LSL; ZAR

Death rate

24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Debt - external

$735 million (2002)

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI

Disputes - international

none This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

Distribution of family income - Gini index

56 (1986-87)

Economic aid - donor

ODA $4.4 million

Economic aid - recipient

$41.5 million (2000)

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.

Electricity - consumption

40 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Electricity - production

0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Elevation extremes

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

Ethnic groups

Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Exchange rates

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

Executive branch

cabinet: Cabinet
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
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
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)

Exports

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

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002)

FAX

[1] (202) 234-6815; [266] 310116
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March Communications Lesotho

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 Lesotho

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

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

GDP - per capita

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

GDP - real growth rate

4% (2002 est.)

Geographic coordinates

29 30 S, 28 30 E

Geography - note

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

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Highways

paved: 1,087 km
total: 5,940 km
unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

31% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

25,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

360,000 (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%: 43.4%
lowest 10%: 0.9%

Imports

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

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002)

Independence

4 October 1966 (from UK)

Industrial production growth rate

15.5% (1999)

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births
total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

10% (2002 est.)

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

Internet country code

.ls

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet users

5,000 (2002) Transportation Lesotho

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1998 est.)

Judicial branch

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court

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

Land boundaries

border countries: South Africa 909 km
total: 909 km

Land use

arable land: 10.71%
other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 0%

Languages

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

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 (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
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
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)

Life expectancy at birth

female: 37.13 years (2003 est.)
male: 36.76 years
total population: 36.94 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 94.5% (2003 est.) Government Lesotho
male: 74.5%
total population: 84.8%

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Median age

female: 20.4 years (2002)
male: 19.3 years
total: 19.8 years

Military - note

the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs Transnational Issues Lesotho

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$34 million (1999)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.)

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Nationality

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

Natural hazards

periodic droughts

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption

1,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

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

NA

Population

1,861,959
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.)

Population below poverty line

49% (1999)

Population growth rate

0.19% (2003 est.)

Ports and harbors

none

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios

NA (2002)

Railways

narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa

Religions

Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telephone 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
general assessment: rudimentary system
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

22,200 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular

21,600 (2000)

Television broadcast stations