Farmland is scarce, and landlessness is common. Average holdings amount to 3.85 hectares of arable land per household. Over the past three decades, the area of cultivation has declined by a third from 450,000 hectares in the 1060's, to 300,000 hectares in the 1990's. Livestock populations have increased steadily over time and in 1991 stood at 650.564 cattle, 1,646.928 sheep and 844,354 goats. Population density per unit of arable land has risen from 443 per square kilometre in 1976 to 700 per square kilometre in 1992.
Unemployment is high and increasing, as workers return from the South African mines.
As for the health sector mortality and fatality rates are relatively high. 2.2 Major Environmental and Natural Resources Management Problems Lesotho, like many other developing countries faces environmental problems of three broad categories. The problem of high dependence on traditional source of fuel for domestic energy supply cause this problem. This has added to the problems of poor rural households, and its threat has been devastating. Decline of Food Production .