# Lesotho

Lesotho

sovereign state, enclave, landlocked country, kingdom, country| Part of | Southern Africa  |
| Year dem found am | 1966  |
| Name in native language | Muso oa Lesotho, Kingdom of Lesotho  |
| Official name | Muso oa Lesotho, Kingdom of Lesotho, Lesotho, Lesotho, le Royaume du Lesotho  |
| Native label | Lesotho  |
| IPA transcription | lɛˈsutu  |
| Dem name after | Sesotho  |
| Official language | English, Sesotho  |
| Anthem | Lesotho Fatse La Bontata Rona  |
| Culture | culture of Lesotho  |
| Motto text | Khotso, Pula, Nala, Peace, Rain, Prosperity, Мир, дъжд, просперитет, The Kingdom In The Sky, Y Frenhiniaeth yn yr Awyr  |
| Continent | Africa  |
| Country | Lesotho  |
| Capital | Maseru  |
| Located in time zone | UTC+02:00, Africa/Maseru  |
| Located in/on physical feature | Southern Africa  |
| Enclave within | South Africa  |
| Coordinate location | 29°33′0″S 28°15′0″E  |
| Coordinates of easternmost point | 29°20′27″S 29°27′20″E  |
| Coordinates of northernmost point | 28°34′12″S 28°39′0″E  |
| Coordinates of southernmost point | 30°40′32″S 28°6′49″E  |
| Coordinates of westernmost point | 29°38′58″S 27°0′41″E  |
| Highest point | Thabana Ntlenyana  |
| Lowest point | Orange River  |
| Government ein basic form | constitutional monarchy  |
| Office held by head of state | King of Lesotho  |
| State ein head | Letsie III of Lesotho  |
| Office head of government hold | Prime Minister of Lesotho  |
| Government ein head | Sam Matekane  |
| Legislative body | Parliament of Lesotho  |
| Central bank | Central Bank of Lesotho  |
| Currency | loti, rand  |
| Twinned administrative body | Gummersbach  |
| Dey share bother plus | South Africa  |
| Driving side | left  |
| Electrical plug type | BS 546  |
| Dey replace | Basutoland  |
| Language dem use | English, Sesotho, Zulu, Xhosa  |
| Dema official website |   |
| Hashtag | Lesotho  |
| Top-level Internet domain | .ls  |
| Flag | flag of Lesotho  |
| Coat of arms | coat of arms of Lesotho  |
| Geography of topic | Geography of Lesotho  |
| Get characteristic | partly free country  |
| History of topic | history of Lesotho  |
| Economy of topic | economy of Lesotho  |
| Demographics of topic | demographics of Lesotho  |
| Commonwealth Sport country code | LES  |
| Mobile country code | 651  |
| Country calling code | +266  |
| Emergency phone number | 112, 114, 115  |
| Licence plate code | LS  |
| Maritime identification digits | 644  |
| Unicode character | 🇱🇸  |
| Category for maps or plans | Category:Maps of Lesotho  |

**Lesotho** (/lɪˈsuːtuː/ (listen) *lih-SOO-too*, Sotho pronunciation: [lɪˈsʊːtʰʊ]), alias **Kingdom of Lesotho**, be sam country wey dem landlock for Southern Africa. As ebe enclave of South Africa, plus edey share 1,106 km border, ebe de sovereign enclave per for de world insyd wey dey outsyd of de Italian peninsula. Edey for de Maloti Mountains wey edey contain de highest mountains for Southern Africa insyd. Eget area of ova 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) wey eget population of about 2 million. Ein capital den largest city be Maseru.

Dem sanso know de country by de nickname *The Mountain Kingdom*.

De Sotho ethnic group (dem sanso know as Basotho), from wey de country derive ein name, dey compose 99.7% of de country ein population, wey dey make am one of de most ethnically homogenous for de world insyd. Dema native language, Sesotho, be de official language along plus English. De name *Lesotho* dey translate go "land of de Sesotho speakers".

King Moshoeshoe I wey he form Lesotho for 1822 insyd. Continuous encroachments by Dutch settlers make de King enter go agreement plus de British Empire wey e cam turn protectorate for 1868 insyd den, for 1884 insyd, crown colony. For 1966 e achieve independence, wey na subsequently de Basotho National Party (BNP) rule am for two decades. Dem restore Constitutional government for 1993 insyd after seven years of military rule. Dem exile King Moshoeshoe II for 1990 insyd wey he return for 1992 insyd wey dem reinstate am for 1995 insyd. One year later, Moshoeshoe II die wey ein son Letsie III take de throne, wey he currently dey zuk.

Dem dey consider Lesotho lower middle income country plus great socioeconomic challenges. Almost half of ein population dey below de poverty line, wey de country ein HIV/AIDS prevalence rate be de second-highest for de world insyd. Edey for de path top, howeva, dey go universal primary education wey e get one of de highest rates of literacy for Africa insyd. Lesotho be member of de United Nations, de Non-Aligned Movement, de Commonwealth of Nations, de African Union, den de Southern African Development Community.

## Politics

### Districts

For administrative purposes, dem divide Lesotho go 10 districts, each de district administrator wey dey head am. Each district get capital dem know as *camptown*.

* Berea
* Butha-Buthe
* Leribe
* Mafeteng
* Maseru
* Mohale's Hoek
* Mokhotlong
* Qacha's Nek
* Quthing
* Thaba-Tseka

Dem subdivide de districts go 80 constituencies, wey dey consist of 129 local community councils.

## Demographics

| Largest cities anaa towns insyd Lesotho

Source: |
| --- |
| Rank | Name | District | Pop. |
| 1 | Maseru | Maseru | 519,186 |
| 2 | Teyateyaneng | Berea | 75,115 |
| 3 | Mafeteng | Mafeteng | 57,059 |
| 4 | Hlotse | Leribe | 47,675 |
| 5 | Maputsoe | Leribe | 32,117 |
| 6 | Mazenod | Maseru | 27,553 |
| 7 | Ratau | Maseru | 26,582 |
| 8 | Mohale's Hoek | Mohale's Hoek | 24,992 |
| 9 | Qiloane | Maseru | 24,093 |
| 10 | Mapoteng | Berea | 23,926 |

Lesotho get population of approximately 2,281,454. De population distribution of Lesotho be 25% urban den 75% rural. Dem dey estimate say de annual increase insyd urban population be 3.5%. 60.2% of de population bebetween 15 den 64 years of age.

* Government of Lesotho
* Published Judicial Opinions
* Lesotho. *The World Factbook*. Central Intelligence Agency.
* Lesotho from *UCB Libraries GovPubs*
* Lesotho profile from de BBC News
* Key Development Forecasts for Lesotho from International Futures
* Introduction of Lesotho