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Background:
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Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon
independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was
exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and
reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was
restored in 1993 after 23 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. Constitutional reforms have since
restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary
elections were held in 2002. |
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Location:
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Southern
Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
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Geographic coordinates:
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29 30 S,
28 30 E |
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Map references:
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Africa
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Area:
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total:
30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
smaller than Maryland |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km
(landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none
(landlocked) |
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Climate:
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temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
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Terrain:
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mostly
highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers
1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
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Natural resources:
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water,
agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay,
building stone |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13%
other: 89% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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10 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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periodic
droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation,
Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa;
mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800
meters above sea level |
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Population:
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1,867,035
note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality and death rates, lower population and
growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be
expected (July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459)
15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female
60,905) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
20.19 years
male: 19.68 years
female: 20.74 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.08%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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26.53
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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25.03
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.74
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
84.23 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 79.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 34.47 years
male: 35.49 years
female: 33.42 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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3.35
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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28.9%
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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320,000
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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29,000
(2003 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
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Ethnic groups:
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Sotho
99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
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Religions:
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Christian
80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
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Languages:
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Sesotho
(southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8%
male: 74.5%
female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland |
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Government type:
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parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
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Capital:
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Maseru
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Administrative divisions:
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10
districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru,
Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing,
Thaba-Tseka |
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Independence:
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4 October
1966 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
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Constitution:
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2 April
1993 |
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Legal system:
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based on
English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review
of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996);
note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from
November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in
exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha
MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet
elections: none; according to the constitution,
the leader of the majority party in the Assembly
automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is
hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution,
which came into effect after the March 1993 election,
the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with
no executive or legislative powers; under traditional
law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who
is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as
regent in the event that the successor is not of mature
age, and may even depose the monarch |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral
Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22
principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the
ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct
popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members
elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note -
number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in
the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held
May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - LCD
54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD
76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
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Judicial branch:
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High
Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on
the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal;
Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo
RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP
[Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP
[Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress
for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the
governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC
[Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa
BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent
MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony
MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete
Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD
[Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP
[Bofihla NKUEBE] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACP,
AfDB, AU, C, The Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol,
IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular
Section)
mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100,
Lesotho
telephone: [266] 22 312666
FAX: [266] 22 310116 |
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Flag description:
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divided
diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper
half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large
shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a
diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner
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Economy - overview:
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Small,
landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on
remittances from miners employed in South Africa and
customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union
for the majority of government revenue, but the
government has strengthened its tax system to reduce
dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major
hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale
of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for
Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined
steadily over the past several years, a small
manufacturing base has developed based on farm products
that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute
industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly
sector. The garment industry has grown significantly,
mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits
contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The
economy is still primarily based on subsistence
agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has
decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality
in the distribution of income remains a major drawback.
Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility with the IMF. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$5.892
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.3%
(2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 43.9%
services: 40.9% (2004 est.) |
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Labor force:
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838,000
(2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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86% of
resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture;
roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in
South Africa |
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Unemployment rate:
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45%
(2002) |
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Population below poverty line:
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49%
(1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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56
(1986-87) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.3%
(2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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39.6% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $698.5 million
expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital
expenditures of $15 million (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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corn,
wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
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Industries:
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food,
beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts;
construction; tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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15.5%
(1999) |
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Electricity - production:
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314
million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa
(2002) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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308
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
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16
million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa
(2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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1,500
bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Current account balance:
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$-108.3
million (2004 est.) |
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Exports:
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$484.5
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles),
wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
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Exports - partners:
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US 97%,
Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004) |
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Imports:
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$730.9
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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food;
building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines,
petroleum products (2000) |
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Imports - partners:
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Hong Kong
46.8%, China 25.5%, South Korea 5.6%, Germany 4.8%
(2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$402.2
million (2004 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$735
million (2002) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA $4.4
million |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$41.5
million (2000) |
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Currency (code):
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loti
(LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
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Currency code:
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LSL; ZAR
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Exchange rates:
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maloti
per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407
(2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April -
31 March |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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28,600
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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92,000
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a modest but growing number
of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and
a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular
mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 1, FM
2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
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Radios:
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NA (2002)
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (2000)
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Televisions:
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NA |
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Internet country code:
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.ls |
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Internet hosts:
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119
(2003) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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1 (2000)
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Internet users:
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21,000
(2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km
unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
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Airports:
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28 (2004
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
3
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
25
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Lesotho
Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing |
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Military service age and obligation:
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18 years
of age (est.); no conscription (2001) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males
age 18-49: 400,457 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males
age 18-49: 162,857 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$32.3
million (2004) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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2.3%
(2004) |
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Military - note:
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the
Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the
future structure, size, and role of the armed forces,
especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF)
history of intervening in political affairs |
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Disputes - international:
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none |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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