Lesotho

Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King Moshoeshoe was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule.
Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa. Area: Total: 30,355 sq km, water: 0 sq km, land: 30,355 sq km. Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than Maryland. Land boundaries: Total: 909 km, border countries: South Africa 909 km. Coastline: 0 km (landlocked).
Climate and Terrain: Climate: Temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers. Terrain: Mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains. Natural resources: Water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals.
People: Population: 2,207,954. Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, Religions: Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%. Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa.
Government: Government type: Parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Capital: Maseru. Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK).
Economy overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. GDP - composition by sector: Agriculture: 18%, industry: 38%, services: 44%.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 22,200. Telephones - mobile cellular: 21,600. Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1. Television broadcast stations: 1. Internet users: 4,000. Railways: Total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa. Highways: Total: 4,955 km, paved: 887 km, unpaved: 4,068 km. Airports: 28, with paved runways: 4, with unpaved runways: 24.