Lesotho
Official Country Name
Lesotho
Lesotho Overview
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.
Lesotho Economy
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, 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, 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.
Lesotho Location
Lesotho is located in Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Region
Lesotho is located in Africa
Lesotho Population
Lesotho has population of 2,022,331 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS
Lesotho Climate
Lesotho has temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Lesotho Terrain
mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Lesotho Natural Resources
water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Ethnic Groups in Lesotho
Lesotho has the following ethnic groups - Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Lesotho Religions
Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Lesotho Languages
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Lesotho Capital
Lesotho capital is Maseru
Lesotho Currency
Lesotho currency is loti, South African rand
Map of Lesotho
