LESOTHO
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
LESOTHO
@Lesotho:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references: Africa
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LESOTHO - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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MASERU 109,000 29.19S, 27.29E 266- GMT+2
Teyateyaneng 8,000 29.09S, 27.45E 266- GMT+2
Leribe 6,000 28.52S, 28.03E 266- GMT+2
Mafeteng 5,000 29.49S, 27.14E 266- GMT+2
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Area:
total area: 30,350 sq km
land area: 30,350 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 909 km, South Africa 909 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds
and other minerals
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 66%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 24%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal
areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion;
desertification; Highlands Water Project will control, store, and
redirect water to South Africa
natural hazards: periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa
@Lesotho:People
Population: 1,992,960 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (female 407,213; male 416,709)
15-64 years: 54% (female 558,106; male 520,961)
65 years and over: 5% (female 51,809; male 38,162) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.44% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.96 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 67.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.56 years
male: 60.74 years
female: 64.43 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho
Ethnic divisions: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800
Religions: Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs
Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1966)
total population: 59%
male: 44%
female: 68%
Labor force: 689,000 economically active
by occupation: 86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence
agriculture; roughly 60% of the active male wage earners work in South
Africa
@Lesotho:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland
Digraph: LT
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Maseru
Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe,
Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing,
Thaba-Tseka
Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Constitution: 2 April 1993
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
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King MOSHOESHOE II (since February 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consisting of the Assembly or
lower house whose members are chosen by popular election and the
Senate or upper house whose members consist of the 22 principal chiefs
and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party; election last held
in March 1993 (first since 1971); all 65 seats in the Assembly were
won by the BCP
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Court,
customary or traditional court
Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP), Evaristus
SEKHONYANA; Basotho Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE; National
Independent Party (NIP), A. C. MANYELI; Marematlou Freedom Party
(MFP), Vincent MALEBO; United Democratic Party, Charles MOFELI;
Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL), Jacob M. KENA
Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Mokhali A.
LITHEBE (since 2 July 1994)
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Myrick BISMARCK
embassy: address NA, Maseru
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
telephone: [266] 312666
FAX: [266] 310116
Flag: 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
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 laborers
employed in South Africa (these remittances supplement domestic income
by as much as 45%). The great majority of households gain their
livelihoods from subsistence farming and migrant labor; a large
portion of the adult male work force is employed in South African
mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products to support the
milling, canning, leather, and jute industries; other industries
include textile, clothing, and construction. Although drought has
decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, improvement
of a major hydropower facility will permit the sale of water to South
Africa and allow Lesotho's economy to continue its moderate growth.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.6 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,340 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.9% (1993)
Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $438 million
expenditures: $430 million, including capital expenditures of $155
million (FY93/94 est.)
Exports: $109 million (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides,
skins, baskets
partners: South Africa 42%, EC 28%, North and South America 25% (1991)
Imports: $964 million (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles,
machinery, medicines, petroleum
partners: South Africa 94%, Asia 3%, EC 1% (1991)
External debt: $512 million (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 10%; accounts for 17% of GDP (1993
est.)
Electricity: power supplied by South Africa
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP (1993 est.); exceedingly
primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $268 million; US
(1992), $10.3 million; US (1993 est.), $10.1 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $819 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million; Communist countries
(1970-89), $14 million
Currency: 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente
Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.5389 (January 1995), 3.5490
(1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990);
note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Lesotho:Transportation
Railroads:
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
Highways:
total: 7,215 km
paved: 572 km
unpaved: gravel, stabilized earth 2,337 km; improved earth 1,806 km;
unimproved earth 2,500 km (1988)
Ports: none
Airports:
total: 29
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 23
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Lesotho:Communications
Telephone system: 5,920 telephones; rudimentary system
local: NA
intercity: consists of a few land lines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radio communication system
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA
@Lesotho:Defense Forces
Branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing),
Lesotho Mounted Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 453,844; males fit for military
service 244,767 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $25 million, NA% of
GDP (1994)
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