# The World Factbook (1982)/Lesotho
## LESOTHOLESOTHO

* (See reference map VII)

### LANDLAND

30,303 km$^2$; 15% cultivable; largely mountainous
Land boundaries: 805 km

### PEOPLEPEOPLE

Population: 1,395,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.2%
Nationality: noun—Mosotho (sing.), Basotho (pl.); adjective—Basotho
Ethnic divisions: 99.7% Sotho, 1,600 Europeans, 800 Asians
Religion: 70% or more Christian, rest animist
Language: all Africans speak Sesotho vernacular; English is second language for literates
Literacy: 40%
Labor force: 87.4% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; 150,000 to 250,000 spend from six months to many years as wage earners in South Africa
Organized labor: negligible

### GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENT

Official name: Kingdom of Lesotho
Type: constitutional monarchy under King Moshoeshoe II; independent member of Commonwealth since 1966
Capital: Maseru
Political subdivisions: 10 administrative districts
Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; constitution came into effect 1966; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; legal education at National University of Lesotho; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: 4 October
Branches: executive, divided between a largely ceremonial King and a Prime Minister who leads Cabinet of at least seven members; Prime Minister dismissed bicameral legislature in early 1970 and subsequently ruled by decree until 1973 when he appointed Interim National Assembly to act as ​legislative branch; judicial—63 Lesotho courts administer customary law for Africans, High Court and subordinate courts have criminal jurisdiction over all residents, Court of Appeal at Maseru has appellate jurisdiction
Government leaders: King MOSHOESHOE II; Prime Minister Chief Leabua JONATHAN
Suffrage: universal for adults
Elections: elections held in January 1970; nullified allegedly because of election irregularities; subsequent elections promised at unspecified date
Political parties and leaders: National Party (BNP), Chief Leabua Jonathan; Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu Molchehle
Voting strength: in 1965 elections for National Assembly, BNP won 32 seats; BCP, 22 seats; minor parties, 4 seats
Communists: negligible, Communist Party of Lesotho banned in early 1970
Member of: Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

### ECONOMYECONOMY

GNP: $473.6 million (1979/80), $312 per capita; real growth rate, 5% (1980)
Agriculture: exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops are corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley
Major industries: none
Electric power: approximately 35 million kWh imported from South Africa (1981)
Exports: labor to South Africa (remittances $110 million est. in 1979); $33.7 million (f.o.b., 1979/80), wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, diamonds, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins
Imports: $288.0 million (c.i.f., 1979/80); mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, petroleum, oil, and lubricants
Major trade partner: South Africa
Budget: (FY80) revenues, $137.6 million; current expenditures, $98.2 million; development budget, $84,2 million
Monetary conversion rate: Lesotho uses the South African rand; 1 SA rand=US$ 1.15 (1981)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

### COMMUNICATIONSCOMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 16 km; owned, operated, and included in the statistics of the Republic of South Africa
Highways: approx 4,033 km total; 320 km paved; 1,585 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized soil; 946 km improved, 2,128 km unimproved earth
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airfields: 27 total, 27 usable; 1 with permanent surface runways; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: system a modest one consisting of a few land lines, a small radio-relay system, and minor radio-communication stations; 4,500 telephones (0.3 per 100 popl.); 2 AM stations and 1 FM station; 1 TV station planned

### DEFENSE FORCESDEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15–49, 313,000; 167,000 fit for military service