| Country (long form) |
Kingdom of Lesotho |
| Capital |
Maseru |
| Total Area |
11,720.13 sq mi
30,355.00 sq km
(slightly smaller than Maryland) |
| Population |
2,143,141 (July 2000 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
2,849,325 |
| Languages |
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu,
Xhosa |
| Literacy |
71.3% total, 81.1% male, 62.3% female (1995 est.) |
| Religions |
Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Life Expectancy |
49.78 male, 51.84 female (2000 est.) |
| Government Type |
parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Currency |
1 loti (L) = 100 lisente |
| GDP (per capita) |
$2,240 (1998 est.) |
| Labor Force (by occupation) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence
agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South
Africa |
| Industry |
food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction;
tourism |
| Agriculture |
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Arable Land |
11% |
| Exports |
manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles),
wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
| Imports |
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery,
medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
| Natural Resources |
water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and
other minerals |
| Current Environmental 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 |
| Telephones (main lines in use) |
18,000 (1995) |