Lesotho

Lesotho is a small country in southern Africa. It is entirely surrounded by South Africa. Its population is about 1,800,000.
The capital of Lesotho is called Maseru.

 Geography 
Lesotho has no coast on the sea nor on a lake. This type of country is called landlocked, meaning it is surrounded by land. All of Lesotho's trade must either be flown in by aeroplane, or brought in by land. Lesotho's position is unusual: it is completely surrounded by South Africa and has no borders with any other country. This type of country is called an enclave. Lesotho is one of the only three enclaved countries in the world (the other two are San Marino and the Vatican City). This makes Lesotho's relationship with South Africa very important to them both.

Lesotho has many mountains and is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. All of Lesotho is at least 1,400 m above sea level. People sometimes travel there to ski in winter. The many mountains in Lesotho mean that it rains there a lot. Lesotho uses some of its water to generate electricity and sells some of the water to South Africa.


 History 
Lesotho became a country in 1818, but it was then called Basutoland. A man called Moshoeshoe brought several of the groups of people in the area together and formed a new country with him as its king. This new country came under attack from its enemies and in 1868 Moshoeshoe asked Queen Victoria of Great Britain for help. Great Britain said it would help if Lesotho became part of the British Empire.

Lesotho eventually gained its independence on 4 October 1966. Now it is a member of the British Commonwealth. King Letsie III is the ruler of Lesotho.

Cities
 Cities in Lesotho Rang  City  Population  District Census 1986  Census 1996  Estimate 2005 1.  Maseru  98,017  137,837  218,355  Maseru 2.  Teyateyaneng  24,336  48,869  75,115  Berea 3.  Mafeteng  12,598  20,804  57,059  Mafeteng 4.  Hlotse  8,021  23,122  47,675  Leribe 5.  Mohale's Hoek  7,899  17,871  40,514  Mohale's Hoek 6.  Maputsoe  8,267  27,951  32,117  Leribe 7.  Qacha's Nek  4,589  4,797  25,573  Qacha's Nek 8.  Quthing  4,471  9,858  24,130  Quthing 9.  Peka  N.A.  N.A.  17,161  Leribe 10.  Butha-Buthe  7,509  12,611  16,330  Butha-Buthe 11.  Roma  5,817  N.A.  11,612  Maseru 12.  Mokhotlong  2,257  4,275  8,809  Mokhotlong 13.  Thaba-Tseka  2,127  4,449  5,423  Thaba-Tseka

Related pages
Lesotho at the Olympics
Lesotho national football team
List of rivers of Lesotho

References


Category:States and territories established in the 1960s
Category:1966 establishments in Africa
Category:Current monarchies
Category:Least developed countries
Category:Commonwealth member states
Category:English-speaking countries