Lesotho | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

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Map of Lesotho

Facts & Figures

Sovereign: King Letsie III (1996)

Prime Minister: Pakalitha Mosisili (2015)

Total area: 11,718 sq mi (30,350 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 1,942,008 (growth rate: 0.34%); birth rate: 25.92/1000; infant mortality rate: 50.48/1000; life expectancy: 52.65

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Maseru 239,000

Monetary unit: Maluti

Current government officials

Languages: English, Sesotho (both official); Zulu, Xhosa

Ethnicity/race: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%

Religions: Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

National Holiday: Independence Day, October 4

Literacy rate: 89.6% (2010 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $4.265 billion; per capita $2,200. Real growth rate: 4.1%. Inflation: 5.0%. Unemployment: 25% (2008). Arable land: 10.14%. Agriculture: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock. Labor force: 874,200 (2013); 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa; industry and services 14%. Industries: food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism. Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone. Exports: $941.2 million (2013 est.): manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals. Imports: $2.148 billion (2013 est.): food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products. Major trading partners: U.S., Canada, UK, Hong Kong, China, India, South Korea, Germany (2004).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 43,100 (2012); mobile cellular: 1.312 million (2011). Broadcast media: 1 state-owned TV station and 2 state-owned radio stations; government controls most private broadcast media; satellite TV subscription service available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters obtainable (2008). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11,030 (2012). Internet users: 76,800 (2009).

Transportation: Railways: none. Highways: total: 5,940 km; paved: 1,069 km; unpaved: 4,871 km (2011). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 24 (2013).

International disputes: South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration.

Major sources and definitions

Geography

Mountainous Lesotho, the size of Maryland, is surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.

Government

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

History

Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) was constituted as a native state under British protection by a treaty signed with the native chief Moshoeshoe in 1843. It was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871, but in 1884 it was restored to direct control by the Crown. The colony of Basutoland became the independent nation of Lesotho on Oct. 4, 1966, with King Moshoeshoe II as sovereign.

In the 1970 elections, Ntsu Mokhehle, head of the Basutoland Congress Party, claimed a victory, but Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, and arrested Mokhehle. King Moshoeshoe II was briefly exiled.

After the king refused to approve the replacement in Feb. 1990 of individuals dismissed by Justin Metsino Lekhanya, the chairman of the military council, the latter stripped the king of his executive power. Then in early March, Lekhanya sent the king into exile. In November, the king was dethroned, and his son was sworn in as King Letsie III.

Lekhanya was himself forced to resign in April 1991, and Col. Ramaema became the new chairman in May. In Jan. 1995, he abdicated in favor of his father , Moshoeshoe II. Letsie again became crown prince. In 1996, however, King Moshoeshoe died in an automobile accident, and Letsie again assumed the throne.

In fall 1998, hundreds of demonstrators protested for weeks in front of the king's palace, claiming voting fraud in the May elections that put Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili in power. They demanded that the government step down and hold new elections. Troops from South Africa and Botswana entered the country to stop the riots and put down an army mutiny. In 2002, Mosisili was reelected under a revised political system that gave opposition parties a larger role in Parliament.

Lesotho faces one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world.

Thabane Appointed Prime Minister

On June 8, 2012, Tom Thabane assumed office as prime minister. He replaced Pakalitha Mosisili.

Thabane served in Mosisili's government from 1998 to 2006 and was a member of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party. However, in 2006, he split from the LCD and formed an opposition party, the All Basotho Convention. After the May 2012 parliamentary election, he formed a coalition with other parties and was appointed prime minister.

Thabane Flees to South Africa

On Aug. 30, 2014, Prime Minister Thabane fled Lesotho for South Africa. Thabane claimed that he left because the military was attempting a coup and planning to kill him. The military denied his claims. Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing took over as prime minister in Thabane's absence. With the protection of the South African police, Thabane returned to Lesotho on Sept. 3. He remained prime minister until the 2015 general election.

Lesotho held the general election on Feb. 28, 2015. No party won the majority. However, the opposition Democratic Congress party formed a coalition government. On March 17, Pakalitha Mosisili was sworn in as prime minister. Mosisili previous served as prime minister from 1998 through 2012.

See also Encyclopedia: Lesotho .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Lesotho