Lesotho

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Introduction - Lesotho:
Country	Lesotho


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 reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 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.


Location - Lesotho:
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references	Africa

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

Area comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km

Coastline	0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims	none (landlocked)

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

Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

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

Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005)

Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards	periodic droughts

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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

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

People - Lesotho:
Population	2,125,262 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 2007 est.)

Age structure	0-14 years: 35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303) 15-64 years: 59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818) 65 years and over: 5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.)

Median age	total: 21.1 years male: 20.4 years female: 21.7 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate	0.144% (2007 est.)

Birth rate	24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate	22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate	-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.674 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate	total: 79.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 84.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth	total population: 39.97 years male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate	3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	28.9% (2003 est.)

Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	320,000 (2003 est.)

Hiv aids deaths	29,000 (2003 est.)

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

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

Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

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

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

Government - Lesotho:
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland

Government type	parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital	name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qachas 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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage	18 years of age; universal

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

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 for five-year terms) elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) 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

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

Political parties and leaders	Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [Pheelo MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; New Lesotho Freedom Party or NLFP [Manapo MAJARA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]

Political pressure groups and leaders	NA

International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

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

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

Economy - Lesotho:
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. However, the government has recently 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 and also generates 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 a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter 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.

Gdp purchasing power parity	$5.327 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp official exchange rate	$1.437 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp real growth rate	3% (2006 est.)

Gdp per capita ppp	$2,600 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 16.1% industry: 43% services: 40.9% (2006 est.)

Labor force	838,000 (2000)

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%

Unemployment rate	45% (2002)

Population below poverty line	49% (1999)

Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4%

Distribution of family income gini index	63.2 (1995)

Inflation rate consumer prices	5% (2006 est.)

Investment gross fixed	32% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget	revenues: $778.9 million expenditures: $734.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Agriculture products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)

Electricity production	250 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)

Electricity consumption	244.5 million kWh (2004)

Electricity exports	0 kWh (2004)

Electricity imports	12 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)

Oil production	0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil consumption	1,400 bbl/day (2004)

Oil exports	NA bbl/day

Oil imports	NA bbl/day

Oil proved reserves	0 bbl

Natural gas production	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas consumption	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance	-$75.44 million (2006 est.)

Exports	$779.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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

Exports partners	Hong Kong 29.6%, China 24%, Taiwan 22.3%, Germany 5.7%, India 5.5% (2006)

Imports	$1.401 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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

Imports partners	US 83.8%, Belgium 12.7%, Canada 2.4% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$528.2 million (2006 est.)

Debt external	$735 million (2002)

Economic aid recipient	$41.5 million (2000)

Currency code	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002)

Communications - Lesotho:
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March

Telephones main lines in use	48,000 (2005)

Telephones mobile cellular	249,800 (2005)

Telephone system	general assessment: rudimentary 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 international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)

Internet country code	.ls

Internet hosts	168 (2006)

Internet users	51,500 (2005)

Transportation - Lesotho:
Airports	28 (2006)

Airports with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Airports with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2006)

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

Military - Lesotho:
Military branches	Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing

Military service age and obligation	18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 428,982 females age 18-49: 440,102 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 180,797 females age 18-49: 160,681 (2005 est.)

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 Forces (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs

Military expenditures percent of gdp	2.6% (2006)