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Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basutho National Party ruled the country during its 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 Batswana 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 in 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties disputed how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. In 2012, competitive elections involving 18 parties saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government - the first in the country's history - that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. MOSISILI returned to power in snap elections in February 2015 after the collapse of THABANE’s coalition government and an alleged attempted military coup.

Location

Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Natural Resources

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

Population - distribution

relatively higher population density in the western half of the nation, with the capital of Maseru, and the smaller cities of Mafeteng, Teyateyaneng, and Leribe attracting the most people

1919552
Sesotho (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
MASERU (capital) 267,000 (2014)
Conventional long form
Kingdom of Lesotho
Conventional short form
Lesotho
Local long form
Kingdom of Lesotho
Local short form
Lesotho
parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Name
Maseru
Geographic coordinates
29 19 S, 27 29 E
Time difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Small, mountainous, and completely landlocked by South Africa, Lesotho depends on a narrow economic base of textile manufacturing, agriculture, remittances, and regional customs revenue. About three-fourths of the people live in rural areas and engage in animal herding and subsistence agriculture, although Lesotho produces less than 20% of the nation's demand for food. Agriculture is vulnerable to weather and climate variability.
Inflation
6.609%
External debt stocks
US$ 879,830,000
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
13.6%
Real Interest Rate
5.309%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
10.739%
Current Account Balance
US$ -200,609,184
Labor Force, Total
947,594
Employment in Agriculture
12.10%
Employment in Industry
41.73%
Employment in Services
45.51%
Unemployment Rate
27.42%
Imports of goods and services
US$ 2,048,844,336
Exports of goods and services
US$ 928,528,321
Total Merchandise Trade
124.45%
FDI, net inflows
US$ 80,434,060
Commercial Service Exports
US$ 42,542,056
corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Commodities
manufactures (clothing, footwear), wool and mohair, food and live animals, electricity, water, diamonds
Partners
Commodities
food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Partners
Country Risk Rating
Business Climate Rating

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