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Lesotho |
Capital: Maseru
Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Currency: Loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's only important natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products which support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa.
PEOPLE
Population: 2,125,262 (July 2007 est.); 1,919,552
Life expectancy at birth:
2007
Total Population: 39.97 years
Male: 40.73 years
Female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)
2010
Total population: 50.67 years
Male: 50.58 years
Female: 50.76 years (2010 est.)
Age structure:
2007
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818)
65 years and over: 5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.)
2010
0-14 years: 34.8% (male 373,159/female 368,271)
15-64 years: 60.2% (male 629,346/female 654,054)
65 years and over: 5% (male 42,074/female 63,915) (2010 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.144% (2007 est.); 0.277% (2010 est.)
Population below poverty line: N/A
HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 23.2% (2006 & 2007 est.);
People living with HIV/AIDS: 250,000 (2006 est.); 270,000 (2007 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total Population: 84.8%
Male: 74.5%
Female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
Refugees and Internally Displaced People: N/A
ECONOMY
Unemployment rate: 45% (2002)
Labour force by Occupation: Agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa; industry and services: 14%
Agricultural Products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Exports - Commodities: manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals
Exports - Partners:
US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006)
US 58.9%, Belgium 37%, Madagascar 1.2% (2008)
Imports - Commodities: food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - Partners:
Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006)
China 26.3%, Taiwan 20.1%, Hong Kong 16.4%, South Korea 14.1%, India 9.2% (2008)
ENVIRONMENT
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
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
Source: CIA World Factbook
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