Lesotho

Branches

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Lesotho Mounted Police

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49: 455,218 males fit for military service: 245,774 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios

66,000

Telephone system

rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones

12,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1

Televisions

11,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Agriculture

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Budget

revenues: $445 million expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $128 million (FY94/95 est.)

Currency

1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economic 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 which support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. 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 will support the economy's continued expansion.

Electricity

power supplied by South Africa

Exchange rates

maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January 1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991); note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Exports

$142 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: clothing, furniture, footwear, wool partners: South Africa 39%, EC 22%, North and South America 33% (1993)

External debt

$512 million (1993)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture: 10.4% industry: 48.8% services: 40.8% (1993)

GDP per capita

$1,430 (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate

13.5% (1994 est.)

Imports

$1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products partners: South Africa 83%, Asia 12%, EC 3% (1993)

Industrial production growth rate

12.5% (1994 est.)

Industries

food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.5% (January 1995)

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

Unemployment rate

substantial unemployment and underemployment

Area

total area: 30,350 sq km land area: 30,350 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

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, Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Geographic coordinates

29 30 S, 28 30 E

Geographic note

landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

total: 909 km border country: South Africa 909 km

Land use

arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 66% forest and woodland: 0% other: 24%

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural resources

water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Mount Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Administrative divisions

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

Assembly

members elected by popular vote; election last held NA March 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (65 total) BCP 65

Capital

Maseru

Constitution

2 April 1993

Data code

LT

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Eunice M. BULANE chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536

Executive branch

chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); the king is the former Crown Prince David Monato BERENG Seeiso and succeeded his father King MOSHOESHOE II, who died in an automobile accident on 16 January 1996; King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne (November 1990 to February 1995) while his father was in exile note: the king is a hereditary monarch, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, he has no executive or legislative powers; moreover, under traditional law the king can be elected or deposed by a majority vote of the College of Chiefs head of government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993) cabinet: Cabinet

FAX

[1] (202) 234-6815

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

Independence

4 October 1966 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, 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, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

High Court; 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

Name of country

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

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

Senate

consists of 33 members (the 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party)

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

Type of government

modified constitutional monarchy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Bismarck MYRICK embassy: address NA, Maseru mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666

Age structure

0-14 years: 41% (male 404,733; female 402,813) 15-64 years: 54% (male 519,493; female 553,618) 65 years and over: 5% (male 37,237; female 52,887) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

32.7 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

13.74 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Infant mortality rate

81.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 52.08 years male: 50.08 years female: 54.14 years (1996 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 71.3% male: 81.1% female: 62.3%

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

1,970,781 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

1.9% (1996 est.)

Religions

Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.32 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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 (1995 est.)

Highways

total: 5,324 km paved: 799 km unpaved: 4,525 km (1993 est.)

Ports

none

Railways

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