2010 Edition

Background

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven 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 Botswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to dispute how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly.

Area

land

30,355 sq km

total

30,355 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

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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

per capita

28 cu m/yr (2000)

total

0.05 cu km/yr (40%/40%/20%)

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 m above sea level

Irrigated land

30 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

border countries

South Africa 909 km

total

909 km

Land use

arable land

10.87%

other

89% (2005)

permanent crops

0.13%

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, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Total renewable water resources

5.2 cu km (1987)

Age structure

0-14 years: 34.8% (male 373,159/female 368,271) 15-64 years: 60.2% (male 629,346/female 654,054) 65 years and over: 5% (male 42,074/female 63,915) (2010 est.)

Birth rate

27.17 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

Death rate

15.71 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

Education expenditures

12.4% of GDP (2008)

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

23.2% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

18,000 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

270,000 (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate

female

51.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

male

60.78 deaths/1,000 live births

total

56.42 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

50.76 years (2010 est.)

male

50.58 years

total population

50.67 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

female

94.5% (2003 est.)

male

74.5%

total population

84.8%

Median age

female

22.7 years (2010 est.)

male

22.6 years

total

22.6 years

Nationality

adjective

Basotho

noun

Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

Net migration rate

-8.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

Population

1,919,552 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)

Population growth rate

0.277% (2010 est.)

Religions

Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

female

10 years (2006)

male

10 years

total

10 years

Sex ratio

at birth

1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female

total population

0.97 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate

3 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

3.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

urban population

25% of total population (2008)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

geographic coordinates

29 19 S, 27 29 E

name

Maseru

time difference

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

Constitution

2 April 1993

Country name

conventional long form

Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form

Lesotho

former

Basutoland

local long form

Kingdom of Lesotho

local short form

Lesotho

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Robert NOLAN

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 David Mohlomi RANTEKOA

FAX

[1] (202) 234-6815

telephone

[1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet (For more information visit the World Leaders website )

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

according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; 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, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age

head of government

Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)

Flag description

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

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Independence

4 October 1966 (from the UK)

International organization participation

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

Judicial branch

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court

Legal system

based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

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 popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4

elections

last held on 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)

National anthem

lyrics/music

Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR note: adopted 1967; the anthem's music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook

name

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP (including the Lesotho People's Congress or LCP [Kelebone MAOPE], the Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE], and a faction of the Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]); All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP; Basotho Congress Party or BCP; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Basotholand African National Congress or BANC; Christian Democratic Party or CDP [Enerst RAMOKOENA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Thabang MATJAMA] (pushes for media freedom)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Central bank discount rate

10.66% (31 December 2009) 14.05% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

13% (31 December 2009 est.) 16.19% (31 December 2008 est.)

Current account balance

-$125 million (2010 est.) $194 million (2009 est.)

Debt - external

$647 million (31 December 2010 est.) $671 million (31 December 2009 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

63.2 (1995) 56 (1986-87)

Economy - overview

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa, customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), and export revenue for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. 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, as well as an apparel-assembly sector. Despite Lesotho's market-based economy being heavily tied to its neighbor South Africa, the US is an important trade partner because of the export sector's heavy dependence on apparel exports. Exports have grown significantly because of 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. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Economic growth dropped in 2009, due mainly to the effects of the global economic crisis as demand for the country's exports declined and SACU revenue fell precipitously when South Africa - the primary contributor to the SACU revenue pool - went into recession, but growth returned to 3.5% in 2010.

Electricity - consumption

516.9 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

50 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

502 million kWh note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2007 est.)

Exchange rates

maloti (LSL) per US dollar - 7.9 (2010), 8.4737 (2009), 7.75 (2008), 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006)

Exports

$985 million (2010 est.) $821 million (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 58.9%, Belgium 37%, Madagascar 1.2% (2008)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

7.1%

industry

34.6%

services

58.2% (2010 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,700 (2010 est.) $1,700 (2009 est.) $1,600 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

3.5% (2010 est.) 1.6% (2009 est.) 3.9% (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.799 billion (2010 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$3.31 billion (2010 est.) $3.198 billion (2009 est.) $3.148 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 39.4% (2003)

Imports

$1.766 billion (2010 est.) $1.572 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities

food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products

Imports - partners

China 26.3%, Taiwan 20.1%, Hong Kong 16.4%, South Korea 14.1%, India 9.2% (2008)

Industrial production growth rate

3% (2010 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.1% (2010 est.) 7.2% (2009 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.9% of GDP (2010 est.)

Labor force

854,600 (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture

86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa

industry and services

14% (2002 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

Oil - consumption

2,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports

1,553 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

Population below poverty line

49% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$893 million (31 December 2010 est.) $988 million (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of broad money

$1.057 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $876 million (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$177.7 million (31 December 2010 est.) $147.3 million (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$653.3 million (31 December 2010 est) $509.5 million (31 December 2009 est)

Unemployment rate

45% (2002)

Broadcast media

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

Internet country code

.ls

Internet hosts

632 (2010)

Internet users

76,800 (2009)

Telephone system

domestic

privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership exceeding 30 per 100 persons in 2009; rural services are scant

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

international

country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)

Telephones - main lines in use

40,000 (2009)

Telephones - mobile cellular

661,000 (2009)

Airports

26 (2010)

Airports - with paved runways

total

3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2010)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

23 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 18 (2010)

Roadways

paved

1,404 km

total

7,091 km

unpaved

5,687 km (2003)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 469,509 females age 16-49: 505,707 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 267,825 females age 16-49: 273,348 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

female

20,400 (2010 est.)

male

19,435

Military - note

Lesotho's declared policy is maintenance of its independent sovereignty and preservation of internal security; in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa; restructuring of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and Ministry of Defense and Public Service over the past five years has focused on subordinating the defense apparatus to civilian control and restoring the LDF's cohesion; the restructuring has considerably improved capabilities and professionalism, but the LDF is disproportionately large for a small, poor country; the government has outlined a reduction to a planned 1,500-man strength, but these plans have met with vociferous resistance from the political opposition and from inside the LDF (2008)

Military branches

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF)

Army (includes Air Wing) (2010)

Military expenditures

2.6% of GDP (2006)

Military service age and obligation

18-24 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women serve as commissioned officers (2009)

Disputes - international

none page last updated on January 19, 2011 ======================================================================