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Lesotho

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Background :

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to dispute how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. 

Location :

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

29 30 S, 28 30 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 27.03
North -28.57
East 29.47
South -30.67

Area :

total 30 355 square km
land 30 355 square km
water 0 square km

Coastline :

0.00 km

Climate :

temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers 

Terrain :

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 1 400 metres
highest point 3 482 metres

Natural resources :

agricultural and grazing land building stone
clay diamonds
sand water

Land use :

arable land 10.87 %
permanent crops 0.13 %
other 89.00 %

Irrigated land :

30 square km

Natural hazards :

periodic droughts

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 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes
Law of the Sea Marine Life Conservation
Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands

Population :

2 130 819 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.12 %
Birth rate 24.14 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 3.06 children born/woman
Death rate 22.20 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 34.80 %
15-64 years 60.20 %
65 years and over 5.00 %

Median age :

total 21.40 years
male 20.90 years
female 22.00 years

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 0.66 male(s)/female
total population 0.96 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 77.40 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 40.38 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 41.18 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 39.54 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 23.20 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 270 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 18 000

Religions :

Christian 80.00 %
indigenous beliefs 20.00 %

Languages :

Sesotho  
English  
Zulu  
Xhosa  

Literacy :

total population 84.80 %
male 74.50 %
female 94.50 %

Country name :

conventional long form Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form Lesotho
local long form Kingdom of Lesotho
local short form Lesotho
former Basutoland

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 LS
ISO Numeric 426
ISO3 LSO
FIPS LT
ccTLD ls
English Lesotho

Administrative divisions :

10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 

Capital :

name Maseru
geographic coordinates 29 19 S, 27 29 E
time difference 2.00

International organization participation :

ACP AU
AfDB C
FAO G-77
IAEA IBRD
ICAO ICCt
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IOC
IPU ISO (subscriber)
ITU Interpol
MIGA NAM
OPCW SACU
SADC UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNHCR UNIDO
UNWTO UPU
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO

Independence :

1966-10-04 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1966-10-04

Executive branch :

King LETSIE III Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 3 311 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 1 624 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -0.90 %
PPP - per capita 1 500 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 15.90 %
industry 45.40 %
services 38.70 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 86.00 %
services 14.00 %

Other Indicators :

Unemployment rate 45.00 %
Population below poverty line 49.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 63.20
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 8.50 %
Investment (gross fixed) 39.60 % of GDP
Current account balance 1 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 738 000 000 $
Debt external 581 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.60 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 1.00 %
highest 10% 39.40 %

Budget :

revenues 563 400 000 $
expenditures 675 400 000 $

Agriculture - products :

barley corn
livestock pulses
sorghum wheat

Industries :

apparel assembly beverages
construction food
handicrafts textiles
tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 502 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 516 900 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 50 000 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 2 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 1 553 bbl/day

Value :

872 000 000 $

Commodities :

food and live animals footwear
manufactures road vehicles)
wool and mohair

Value :

1 827 000 000 $

Partners :

China (cn) 26.30 %
Tawian 20.10 %
Hong Kong (hk) 16.40 %
South Korea 14.10 %
India (in) 9.20 %

Commodities :

building materials food
machinery medicines
petroleum products vehicles

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 65 200
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 581 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 3
Television broadcast stations 1
Internet Country code (ccTLD) ls
Internet Hosts 127
Internet Users 73 300

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 3
Roadways - total 7 091 km
Roadways - paved 1 404 km
Roadways - unpaved 5 687 km

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