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Kingdom of Lesotho

former: Basutoland


 
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© 1996-2006
Bob Starkgraf

INTRODUCTION

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.
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GEOGRAPHY

Location:
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Geographic coordinates:
29 30 S, 28 30 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain:
mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Natural resources:
water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Land use:
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geography - note:
landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
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PEOPLE

Population:
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.)
Age structure:
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.)
Population growth rate:
1.33% (2002 est.)
Birth rate:
30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate:
16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio:
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.)
Infant mortality rate:
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47 years
female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
male: 46.3 years
Total fertility rate:
4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
23.57% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
240,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
16,000 (1999 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: 83%
male: 72%
female: 93% (1999 est.)
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