Lesotho

Internet country code

.ls

Internet hosts

119 (2003)

Internet users

21,000 (2002)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)

Telephone system

general assessment: rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few 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)

Telephones - main lines in use

28,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

92,000 (2002)

Television broadcast stations

1 (2000)

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Budget

revenues: $625.4 million expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)

Currency

loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)

Currency code

LSL; ZAR

Current account balance

$-112 million (2003)

Debt - external

$735 million (2002)

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 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

40 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Electricity - production

0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Exchange rates

maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)

Exports

$450 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 15.3% industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Imports

$661 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)

Industrial production growth rate

15.5% (1999)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.1% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

34.1% of GDP (2003)

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

Oil - consumption

1,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line

49% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold

$460 million (2003)

Unemployment rate

45% (2002)

Area

total: 30,355 sq km land: 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

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

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

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1998 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km

Land use

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

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, some diamonds and other minerals

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Maseru

Constitution

2 April 1993

Country name

conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland

Diplomatic representation from the US

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

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

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, 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

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

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Independence

4 October 1966 (from UK)

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, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Judicial branch

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; 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; 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 elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) 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

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Political parties and leaders

Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Background

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. 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 South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.

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

Military branches

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing)

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$32.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.6% (2003)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - military age and obligation

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815) 15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.)

Birth rate

26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate

24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

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.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)

Literacy

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

Median age

total: 20 years male: 19.5 years female: 20.6 years (2004 est.)

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population

1,865,040 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 2004 est.)

Population growth rate

0.14% (2004 est.)

Religions

Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

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 (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Disputes - international

none

Airports

28 (2003 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.)

Highways

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

Ports and harbors

none