Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995 and subsequently succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven 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 Botswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to dispute how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly.

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

slightly smaller than Maryland

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

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

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

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

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

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

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

Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

1,930,493 (July 2012 est.)

26.65 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

15.18 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-8.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

MASERU (capital) 220,000 (2009)

620 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

2.89 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2003)

1.33 beds/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 40% of population

rural: 25% of population

total: 29% of population

urban: 60% of population

rural: 75% of population

total: 71% of population

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

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

4 October 1966 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

mixed legal system of English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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 popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional courts

All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP; Basotho Congress Party or BCP; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [vacant]; Democratic Congress or DC; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Peoples Congress or LPC; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD

Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Thabang MATJAMA] (pushes for media freedom)

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from Basotho employed in South Africa, customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), and export revenue for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. 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, as well as an apparel-assembly sector. Despite Lesotho's market-based economy being heavily tied to its neighbor South Africa, the US is an important trade partner because of the export sector's heavy dependence on apparel exports. Exports have grown significantly because of the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Most of the labor force is engaged in subsistence agriculture, especially livestock herding, 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. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Economic growth dropped in 2009, due mainly to the effects of the global economic crisis as demand for the country's exports declined and SACU revenue fell precipitously when South Africa - the primary contributor to the SACU revenue pool - went into recession, but growth exceeded 4% per year in 2010-12. Growth is expected to increase due to major infrastructure projects, but Lesotho's weak manufacturing and agriculture sectors continue to hamper growth.

$3.945 billion (2012 est.)

$3.784 billion (2011 est.)

$3.606 billion (2010 est.)

$2.62 billion (2012 est.)

36.6% of GDP (2012 est.)

63.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

-0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)

10% (31 December 2010 est.)

10.66% (31 December 2009 est.)

13% (31 December 2012 est.)

10.4% (31 December 2011 est.)

$378.6 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$346.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$897 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$820.4 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$82.19 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$60.61 million (31 December 2010 est.)

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

-$352.6 million (2012 est.)

-$521.5 million (2011 est.)

$1.039 billion (2012 est.)

$1.003 billion (2011 est.)

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

$2.469 billion (2012 est.)

$2.306 billion (2011 est.)

food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products

$1.089 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.109 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$715.4 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$729.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$242 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$120 million (31 December 2011 est.)

maloti (LSL) per US dollar -

200 million kWh (2009 est.)

293 million kWh (2009 est.)

121 million kWh (2010 est.)

76,000 kW (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1,777 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1,813 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

282,100 Mt (2010 est.)

1.232 million (2011)

1 state-owned TV station and 2 state-owned radio stations; government controls most private broadcast media; satellite TV subscription service available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters obtainable (2008)

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army (includes Air Wing) (2012)

18-24 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women serve as commissioned officers (2012)

Lesotho's declared policy is maintenance of its independent sovereignty and preservation of internal security; in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa; restructuring of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and Ministry of Defense and Public Service over the past five years has focused on subordinating the defense apparatus to civilian control and restoring the LDF's cohesion; the restructuring has considerably improved capabilities and professionalism, but the LDF is disproportionately large for a small, poor country; the government has outlined a reduction to a planned 1,500-man strength, but these plans have met with vociferous resistance from the political opposition and from inside the LDF (2008)