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

Coat of Arms

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

• 29 30 S, 28 30 E

• total: 909 km
  border countries: South Africa 909 km

• Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

• water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

• total: 30,355 sq km
  land: 30,355 sq km
  water: 0 sq km
• (Compare to other countries)

• mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

• landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level

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National parks & reserves

• Sehlabathebe National Park
  Ts'ehlanyane National Park

After many years as a British protectorate, Lesotho gained full independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966. In January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) appeared set to lose the first post-independence general elections when Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan annulled the election. He refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) and imprisoned its leadership.

The BNP ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup forced them out of office. The Military Council that came into power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. In 1987, however, the King was forced into exile after a falling out with the army. His son was installed as King Letsie III.

The chairman of the military junta, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and then replaced by Major General Elias Phisoana Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected government of the BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In August 1994, Letsie III staged a coup which was backed by the military and deposed the BCP government. The new government did not receive full international recognition. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations aimed at the reinstatement of the BCP government. One of the conditions put forward by the King for the return of the BCP government was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and the King abdicated in favor of his father in 1995, but Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996 and was again succeeded by his son, Letsie III. The ruling BCP split over leadership disputes in 1997.

Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. The LCD won the general elections in 1998 under the leadership of Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader. Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a peaceful demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. Exact details of what followed are much disputed, but in September an SADC task force operating on orders of unclear provenance entered the capital city. While the Botswanan troops were welcomed, tensions with white Afrikaaner South African troops were high, and sporadic rioting intensified when the Afrikaaners ran up a South African flag at the royal palace. Numerous units of Lesotho's armed forces mutinied. By the time the SADC forces withdrew in May of 1999, much of Maseru lay in ruins, and the southern provincial capitol towns of Mafeteng and Mohales Hoek had seen the loss of over a third of their commercial real estate.

An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that there be opposition in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again, gaining 54% of the vote. For the first time, however, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats, and despite some irregularities and threats of violence from Major General Lekhanya, Lesotho experienced its first peaceful election. Nine opposition parties now hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the BNP having the largest share (21). The LCD has 79 of the 80 constituency-based seats. Although its elected members participate in the National Assembly, the BNP has launched several legal challenges to the elections, including a recount; none has been successful. From Wikipedia.

Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government.

The LCD won the general elections under the leadership of Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader. Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a violent demonstration outside the royal palace in August. When junior members of the armed services mutinied in September, the government requested a SADC task force to intervene to prevent a coup and restore stability.

An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that there be opposition in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis.

A military group of South African and Botswana troops entered the country in September, put down the mutiny, and withdrew in May. Looting, casualties, and widespread destruction of property followed.

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• Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

• adult prevalence rate: 28.9% (2003 est.) (Compare to other countries)
• people living with HIV/AIDS: 320,000 (2003 est.) (Compare to other countries)

• 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.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

• total population: 36.68 years
  male: 36.86 years
  female: 36.49 years (2005 est.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• total population: 84.8%
  male: 74.5%
  female: 94.5% (2003 est.)

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• noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
  adjective: Basotho

• 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.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• 0.08% (2005 est.)

• Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

School enrollment
(% relevant age group) From UNESCO.

• Net primary enrollment: 83.4% (2000)
• Net secondary enrollment: 19.9% (2000)

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• 3.35 children born/woman (2005 est.)
• (Compare to other countries)

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

• Maseru

• 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

• parliamentary constitutional monarchy

• Jan 1 New Year’s Day
• Mar 11 Moshoeshoe Day
• Mar 25 Good Friday
• Easter Monday (changes)
• Apr 4 Heroes’ Day
• May 1 Workers’ Day
• Ascension (changes)
• Jul 17 King Letsie III’s Birthday
• Oct 4 Independence Day
• Dec 25-26 Christmas

• 4 October 1966 (from UK)

• 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
  

• Maseru; Teyateyaneng;Maputsoe; Hlotse; Mafeteng

• Lesotho Fatse La Bo Ntat'a Rona (Click here for full anthem)

• 28 (2004 est.) (Compare to other countries)

• total: 5,940 km
  paved: 1,087 km
  unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)
• (Compare to other countries)

• 0

Fixed lines
& mobile telephones
(per 1,000 people)
(From ITU)

• 20.3 m (2000)
• NA (2003)

• 266;

• .ls

• 21,000 (2002)
• (Compare to other countries)

Press

• Makatolle
• The Mirror
• MoAfrica
• Mohlanka
• Mopheme
• Public Eye

TV

• Lesotho Television

Radio

• Catholic Radio FM
• Joy Radio FM
• Khotso FM
• MoAfrika FM
• Radio Lesotho
• People's Choice FM

• 1.9 (2000)
• NA (2003)

• 0.0 (2000)
• NA (2003)

• 28,600 (2002)
• (Compare to other countries)

• 92,000 (2002)
• (Compare to other countries)

• UTC/GMT +2 hours
• Find the local time: Time and Date

• corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

• loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
• Currency converter

• maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)

• manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)

• US 96%, Canada 1.5%, Belgium/Luxembourg 1.1% (2004)

• 1 April - 31 March

• purchasing power parity- $5.892 billion (2004 est.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• 3.3% (2004 est.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)

• Hong Kong 34.2%, Taiwan 33.9%, China 11.2%, Germany 9.2% (2004)

• food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism

• 5.3% (2004 est.)
• (Compare to other countries)

• 49% (1999)

• 45% (2002)
• (Compare to other countries)

• Malealea
• Maseru - capital
• Sehlabathebe National Park
• Teyateyaneng ('Place of Quick Sands')
• Thaba-Bosiu

• 87,000 (1995)

• Travelers require a visa, except those from many western countries, Commonwealth and USA.

• None

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• Makatolle
• The Mirror
• MoAfrica
• Mohlanka
• Mopheme
• Public Eye