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| Introduction | Lesotho |
| 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. |
| People | Lesotho |
| 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.) |
| 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.) |
| Median age: | total: 20 years male: 19.5 years female: 20.6 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| 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.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 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 former: Basutoland |
| Government type: | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Capital: | Maseru |
| 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 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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, 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 |
| 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 |
| Judicial branch: | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| 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 |
| 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, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Communications | Lesotho |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 28,600 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 92,000 (2002) |
| 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) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios: | NA (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2000) |
| Televisions: | NA |
| Internet country code: | .ls |
| Internet hosts: | 119 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 21,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Lesotho |
| Highways: | total: 5,940 km paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
| Ports and harbors: | 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.) |
| Military | Lesotho |
| Military branches: | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing) |
| 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 expenditures - dollar figure: | $32.5 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.6% (2003) |
| 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 |
| Transnational Issues | Lesotho |
| Disputes - international: | none |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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