Edition 2005 — Lesotho — World Factbook

Administrative divisions

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459) 15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female 60,905) (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Airports

28 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) 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, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. 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 intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. Geography Lesotho

Birth rate

26.53 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Budget

expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $698.5 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 (code)

loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code

LSL; ZAR

Current account balance

$-108.3 million (2004 est.)

Death rate

25.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Debt - external

$735 million (2002)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)
FAX: [266] 22 310116
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone: [266] 22 312666

Diplomatic representation in the US

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

Disputes - international

none This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005 ======================================================================

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 garment industry has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. 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

308 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports

16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)

Electricity - production

314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)

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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Ethnic groups

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

Exchange rates

maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)

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

$484.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 97%, Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004)

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 - composition by sector

agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 43.9%
services: 40.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.3% (2004 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$5.892 billion (2004 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

28.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

29,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

320,000 (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Imports

$730.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Hong Kong 46.8%, China 25.5%, South Korea 5.6%, Germany 4.8% (2004)

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: 79.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births
total: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.3% (2004 est.)

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, The Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Internet country code

.ls

Internet hosts

119 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet users

21,000 (2002) Transportation Lesotho

Investment (gross fixed)

39.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1998 est.)

Judicial branch

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

Labor force

838,000 (2000)

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: 10.87%
other: 89% (2001)
permanent crops: 0.13%

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 May 2007)

Life expectancy at birth

female: 33.42 years (2005 est.)
male: 35.49 years
total population: 34.47 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

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49: 400,457 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49: 162,857 (2005 est.)

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Median age

female: 20.74 years (2005 est.)
male: 19.68 years
total: 20.19 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): Army and Air Wing

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$32.3 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.3% (2004)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

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, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

Net migration rate

-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

1,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - exports

NA

Oil - imports

NA

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Political parties and leaders

Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Population

1,867,035 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 2005 est.)

Population below poverty line

49% (1999)

Population growth rate

0.08% (2005 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios

NA (2002)

Religions

Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$402.2 million (2004 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telephone system

domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of 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: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

28,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

92,000 (2002)

Television broadcast stations