Lesotho Population: 1,936,181
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| Background | |
| Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled the country during its first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995 and subsequently succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. 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 Batswana 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 disputed how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. In May 2012, competitive elections involving 18 parites saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government - the first in the country's history - that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. |
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| Geography | |
| Landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 m above sea level | |
| Location: | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Geographic coordinates: | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Area: | total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km Size comparison: 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 |
| Current Environment 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 |
| International Environment 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 |
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| People | |
| Population: | 1,936,181 (July 2013 est.) 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 |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 33.1% (male 322,189/female 319,618) 15-24 years: 20.2% (male 185,931/female 205,643) 25-54 years: 36.3% (male 344,120/female 359,370) 55-64 years: 4.9% (male 50,781/female 44,399) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 52,241/female 51,889) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 23.1 years male: 23.1 years female: 23.1 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.332% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 26.65 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 15.18 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -8.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| 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: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 53.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 51.86 years male: 51.77 years female: 51.95 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.83 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 23.6% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 290,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 14,000 (2009 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 (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.6% male: 83.3% female: 95.6% (2010 est.) |
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| Government | |
| 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, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Independence: | 4 October 1966 (from the UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Constitution: | 2 April 1993 |
| Legal system: | mixed legal system of English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal |
| 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 Motsoahae Thomas THABANE (since 8 June 2012) cabinet: Cabinet (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party, or coalition of parties, 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 |
| 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) elections: last held on 26 May 2012 (next to be held in 2017) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DC 48, ABC 30, LCD 26, BNP 5, PFD 3, NIP 2, other 6 |
| 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 courts |
| Political parties and leaders: | All Basotho Convention or ABC [Motsoahae Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP [Geremane RAMATHEBANE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Thulo MAHLAKENG]; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Thesele 'MASERIBANE]; Democratic Congress or DC [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Mothetjoa METSING]; Lesotho Peoples Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Kimetso MATHABA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Tsebo MATŠASA] (pushes for media freedom) |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Eliachim Molapi SEBATANE chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Carl B. FOX embassy: 254 Kingsway Road, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 22 312666 FAX: [266] 22 310116 |
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| Economy | |
| Small, mountainous, and completely landlocked by South Africa, Lesotho is a least developed country in which 77% of the people live in rural areas and engage in subsistence agriculture. Lesotho produces less than 20% of the nation's demand for food. Rain-fed agriculture is vulnerable to weather and climate variability; an estimated 725,500 people will require food assistance in 2012/13. The distribution of income in Lesotho remains inequitable. Lesotho relies on South Africa for much of its economic activity. Lesotho imports 90% of the goods it consumes from South Africa, including most agricultural inputs. Households depend heavily on remittances from family members working in South Africa, in mines, on farms and as domestic workers, though mining employment has declined substantially since the 1990s. Government revenue depends heavily on transfers from South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union accounted for 44% of government revenue in 2012. The South African Government also pays royalties for water tranferred to South Africa from a dam and reservoir system in Lesotho. However, the government continues to strengthen its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties and other transfers. Access to credit remains a problem for the private sector. The government maintains a large presence in the economy - public expenditures accounted for 55% of GDP in 2010 and the government remains Lesotho's largest employer. Lesotho's largest private employer is the textile and garment industry - approximately 36,000 Basotho, mainly women, work in factories producing garments for export to South Africa and the United States. Diamond mining in Lesotho has grown in recent years and may contribute 8.5% to GDP by 2015, according to current forecasts. Lesotho's $362.5 million Millennium Challenge Account Compact, which focused on strengthening the healthcare system, developing the private sector, and providing access to improved water supplies and sanitation facilities, will end in September 2013. Despite the 2008/09 global economic crisis, the economy has recovered strongly with growth averaging nearly 5% per year since 2010. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $3.945 billion (2012 est.) $3.784 billion (2011 est.) $3.606 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $2.62 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 4.3% (2012 est.) 4.9% (2011 est.) 5.2% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2012 est.) $1,900 (2011 est.) $1,900 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 6.7% industry: 34.6% services: 58.7% (2012 est.) |
| Labor force: | 894,500 (2010 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 86% industry and services: 14% note: most of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 25% (2008 est.) 45% (2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 49% (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 39.4% (2003) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 63.2 (1995) 56 (1986-87) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (2012 est.) 5% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 36.6% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $1.655 billion expenditures: $1.68 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | NA note: official data; data cover central Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowing from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions |
| Agriculture - products: | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Industries: | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 3% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 200 million kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 182 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 293 million kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 121 million kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$352.6 million (2012 est.) -$521.5 million (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $1.039 billion (2012 est.) $1.003 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear), wool and mohair, food and live animals, electricity, water, diamonds |
| Imports: | $2.469 billion (2012 est.) $2.306 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.089 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $1.109 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $715.4 million (31 December 2012 est.) $729.5 million (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $242 million (31 December 2012 est.) $120 million (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Exchange rates: | maloti (LSL) per US dollar - 8.095 (2012 est.) 7.26 (2011 est.) 7.32 (2010 est.) 8.47 (2009) 7.75 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 38,600 (2011) country comparison to the world: 168 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 1.232 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | 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 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 roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011; rural services are scant international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .ls |
| Internet hosts: | 11,030 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 76,800 (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 24 (2012) country comparison to the world: 130 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 16 (2012) |
| Roadways: | total: 7,091 km paved: 1,404 km unpaved: 5,687 km (2003) |
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| Military | |
| 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) (2012) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-24 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women serve as commissioned officers (2012) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 472,456 females age 16-49: 508,953 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 270,184 females age 16-49: 275,734 (2010 est.) |
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