Lesotho

Government
Name	Kingdom of Lesotho
Sesotho	‘Muso oa Lesotho
Government type	parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital	Maseru (330,760 (2016))
Currency	Lesotho loti (LSL) South African rand (ZAR)
Organization
Member State	Commonwealth of Nations
People
Population (2020)	2,142,252 (144th)
Density of population	68.1 P/km² (138th)
Nationality	Basotho
Official languages
Sesotho
English
Ethnic groups
Sotho	99.7%
Other	0.3%
Religions (2014)
Protestant	47.8%
Pentecostal	23.1%
Lesotho Evangelical	17.3%
Anglican	7.4%
Roman Catholic	39.3%
other Christian	9.1%
non-Christian	1.4%
none	2.3%
Life expectancy (2020)
Male	53.1 years
Female	53 years
Total population	53 years (227th)
Homicides
Total (2015)	43.6 per 100,000 people (3rd)
Geography
Land area	30,355 km²
water area	0 km²
total area	30,355 km² (142nd)
Mean elevation	2,161 m
Lowest point
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers	1,400 m
Highest point
Thabana Ntlenyana	3,482 m
Land use (2011)
Agricultural land	76.1%
Arable land	10.1%
Permanent crops	0.1%
Permanent pasture	65.9%
Forest	1.5%
Other	22.4%
Urbanization
Urban population (2020)	29%
Rate of urbanization	2.83% annual rate of change (2015 – 2020)
Economy
Labor force (2017)	930,800 (148th)
Labor force by occupation (2002)
Agriculture	86%
Industry and services	14%
Unemployment rate (2017)	7.1% (108th)
note: most of the resident population is engaged in subsistence agriculture roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
GDP (PPP) (estimate 2017)
Total	$7.448 billion
Per capita	$3,868
GDP (nominal) (estimate 2017)
Total	$2.721 billion
Per capita	$1,413
GDP by sector (estimate 2016)
Agriculture	5.8%
Industry	39.2%
Services	54.9%
Exports (2017)	$1.028 billion (159th)
Exports partners (2017)
South Africa	57%
US	33.5%
Imports (2017)	$1.826 billion (172nd)
Imports partners (2017)
South Africa	87.2%

Lesotho on the world map

Lesotho top 10 largest cities (2016)

Maseru (330,760)
Teyateyaneng (75,115)
Maputsoe (55,541)
Mohale’s Hoek (40,040)
Mafeteng (39,754)
Hlotse (38,558)
Butha-Buthe (35,108)
Quthing (27,314)
Qacha’s Nek (15,917)
Thaba-Tseka (15,248)

Demography

Population pyramid

Age structure data

Estimate for 2020:

0-14 years: 31.3% (male 309,991/female 306,321)
15-24 years: 19.26% (male 181,874/female 197,452)
25-54 years: 38.86% (male 373,323/female 391,901)
55-64 years: 4.98% (male 52,441/female 45,726)
65 years and over: 5.6% (male 57,030/female 53,275)

Remark: the age structure of a population affects a nation’s key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The age structure can also be used to help predict potential political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population unable to find employment can lead to unrest.

Population from 1950 to 2020

CC BY

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition. Rev. 1.

Evolution of the life expectancy from 1960 to 2018

CC BY

Source: World Development Indicators, The World Bank

Major river

Orange (2,200 km / 1,400 mi)

Economy

Agriculture:

corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley, livestock

Industries:

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

Exports – commodities:

manufactures (clothing, footwear), wool and mohair, food and live animals, electricity, water, diamonds