LESOTHO

Officialname:‘MusooaLesotho(Sotho);KingdomofLesotho(English)

Formofgov’t:constitutionalmonarchywithtwolegislativehouses(Senate[33nonelectedseats];NationalAssembly[120])

HeadofstateKingLetsieIII Headofgov’t:PrimeMinisterThomasMotsoahaeThabane

Capital:Maseru Officiallanguages:Sotho,English

Officialreligion:Christianity

Monetaryunit:loti(pluralmaloti)

Population:1,913,000 Totalarea:(sqmi)11,720Urban-ruralpopulationUrban:26.8%Rural:73.2% Lifeexpectancy:Male:52.8yearsFemale:53years Literacy:Male:83.3%Female:95.6%GNIpercapita:(U.S.$)1,280

Introduction ThesmallsouthernAfricankingdomofLesothoiscompletelysurroundedbytheRepublicofSouthAfrica,thoughseparatedfromitbyformidablemountains.Formanyyearsaftergainingtheirindependencein1966,thepeopleofthisformerBritishprotectoratesufferedfrompoliticalturbulence,economiccrises,andagrowingincidenceofHIV/AIDS.Inthe1990s,however,thecountrybeganaseriesofdevelopmentprojectsthathelpedimprovetheinfrastructureandeconomy.AriseintourismandaninfluxofforeigncurrencyalsohelpedimproveconditionsinLesotho.LandandClimateTheMalotiandDrakensbergmountainranges,whichriseover11,000feet,coverabouttwothirdsofthecountry’stotalarea.SomostofthepeopleliveinthelowlandsalongLesotho’swesternside.Thehighestpeak,MountNtlenyana,is11,424feet(3,482metres)abovesealevel.AplateauformedbythemountainrangesintheeastisthesourceoftwoofSouthAfrica’slargestrivers—theTugelaandtheOrange.OtherimportantriversinLesothoincludetheSenqunyane,whichflowsthroughcentralLesotho;theKomotspruit,locatedinthesouthwest;andtheMatsoku,whichflowsthroughthenortheast.Thelowlandclimateistemperate,withcoolwintersandwarmsummers.Temperaturesrangefromalowofabout20° Finthewintertoahighof90° Finthesummer.MostprecipitationfallsbetweenOctoberandApril,withanannualaverageofroughly28inches.PeopleandCultureMostofLesotho’speoplebelongtotheSothoethnicgroup.AboutonesixthofthepopulationisZulu,andtherearesmallminoritiesofAsians,Europeans,andpeopleofmixedancestry.Sotho,aBantulanguage,andEnglisharetheofficiallanguages.Christianityistheofficialreligion,thoughasmallfractionofthepopulationfollowstraditionalbeliefs.

Morethanfourfifthsofthepopulationisrural.Mountainandruralpeopleliveinfamilycompoundsmadeupofonefamilyextendingoverseveralgenerations.Thevillagesareclustersofhutsmadeofearthandstonewiththatchedorcorrugatedironroofs.Incontrast,urbancentersofferablendoftraditionalandWesternculture.Maseruishometomarketsofferingtraditionalgoodsaswellasmodernhotelsandnightclubs.EducationisimportanttotheSotho,whohaveoneofthehighestliteracyratesinAfrica.Almostthreequartersoftheadultpopulationcanreadandwrite.Allprimaryeducationisfree,andmostschoolsarerunbyChristianchurches.TheNationalUniversityofLesothoinMaseruoffersopportunitiesforhighereducation. EconomyAgriculture,industry,andconstructionformthebasisofLesotho’seconomy.Though,inordertomakeabetterliving,muchofthelaborforcecrossesthebordertoworkinSouthAfrica.Moneybroughtinfromtheseworkerscontributedroughlytwo-thirdsofthegrossnationalproductintheearly1990s,butdecreasedemploymentopportunitiesinSouthAfricaledtoanotabledeclineinthismoney.Roughlytwothirdsofthelaborforceworksinagriculture,eventhoughonlyonetenthofthelandissuitableforcrop-growingbecauseofthemountainousterrain.Corn(maize),fruit,sorghum,androotsandtubersareraised.Abouttwothirdsofthelandisusedasmeadowsandpasturesforherdsofcattle,sheep,andgoats.Agriculturalgoodsexportedincludemohair,wool,andhides,butLesothomustimportmostoftheproductsthatareusedinthecountry.

Naturalresourcesarelimited,anddiamondsaretheonlymineralproduced.BecauseofthelackofresourcesLesothoisoneoftheworld’spoorestcountries.ItreliesonforeignaidandisheavilydependentonSouthAfricaforfoodandmostconsumergoods.Lesothoisfurtherburdenedbya

growingincidenceofHIV/AIDS.AlmostonethirdofthetotalpopulationwaslivingwithHIVbytheendof2001.GovernmentThe1993constitutionestablishedLesothoasaparliamentaryconstitutionalmonarchy–oneofonlythreekingdomsleftinAfrica.Ahereditarymonarchservesaschiefofstate.However,thispositionismostlyasymbolicone.Thegovernmentisheadedbyaprimeministerandacabinet.Theparliamentisabicameral,ortwo-chambered,legislaturecomposedofa120-memberNationalAssemblyanda33-memberSenate.Representativestotheassemblyareelectedtoservefive-yearterms;senatorsareappointedbythemajoritypartyintheassembly.TheHighCourtservesasthecountry’shighestcourt.ThereisalsoaCourtofAppeal,aswellasnumerouslowercourts.HistoryTheBasothonationwasformedintheearly1800sunderKingMoshoeshoeIwhenseveralAfricangroups,whoweredisplacedbytheZulunation,soughtrefugeintheMalotimountains.Later,duetoconflictswithBoers,orDutch-speakingwhitesettlers,MoshoeshoeaskedforandreceivedtheprotectionoftheBritishCrownin1868.ThelandultimatelycameunderdirectBritishcontrol.In1960theBasutolandCouncilwasformed.In1965ChiefLeabuaJonathanwaschosenprimeminister.Thefollowingyear,thecountrygainedindependence,withKingMoshoeshoeIIasheadofstate.Thoughafteritsfirstpost-independenceelections,Lesothowasrockedby

corruptionandmilitarytakeovers(includingsevenyearsofmilitaryrule)andtheexileofKingMoshoeshoeII.Constitutionalgovernmentwasfinallyrestoredin1993after23yearsofauthoritarianrule.TheheadoftheBasotholandCongresspartybecameprimeminister.KingMoshoeshoeIIwasrestoredtothethronebutdiedtwoyearslaterlater,replacedbyLetsieIII.In1998BathuelPakalithaMosisili,leaderoftheLesothoCongressforDemocracyparty,becameprimeministerfollowinghisparty’svictoryinparliamentaryelections.Oppositionpartiesquestionedtheresultsoftheelection,however,andwidespreadriotingoccurred.TroopsfromSouthAfricaandBotswanaeventuallyhelpedrestoreorder.Asaresultoftheunrest,anInterimPoliticalAuthoritywasestablishedtoreviewthevotingprocedures.Underanewsystemdevelopedbytheauthority,Mosisiliwaselectedin2002toasecondfive-yearterm.Andin2005localgovernmentelectionswereheldforthefirsttimesinceindependence.FUNFACTS

• Itisoneofonlythreecountriesintheworldthatareenclavedwithinanothercountry;theothertwoareSanMarinoandVaticanCity,bothlocatedwithinItaly.

• ThelowestpointabovesealevelinLesothois1500metres,makingitthecountrywiththehighestlowpointintheworld.

• TheKatseDamisthehighestdaminAfrica(thesurfacereaches2050metreswhenat100%full)andwith185metresisthesecondlargestdamwallinAfrica.

• TraditionaldressincludesthetheBasothoBlanket.ThiscolorfulblanketisnotonlyusedtoprotecttheBasothoagainstthecold,butisalsowornasastatussymbolandculturalidentification.