NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
Kingdom of Lesotho
former: Basutoland
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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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. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
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Geographic coordinates:
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29 30 S, 28 30 E |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km land: 30,355 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Maryland |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
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Terrain:
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mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
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Natural resources:
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water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
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Land use:
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arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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10 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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periodic droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.33% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 47 years
female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) male: 46.3 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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23.57% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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240,000 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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16,000 (1999 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
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Ethnic groups:
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Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
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Religions:
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Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
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Languages:
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Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |