Lesotho

Hidden high among the Drakensberg, Maluti, and Thaba Putsoa Mountains, the Kingdom of Lesotho is surrounded on all sides by South Africa. The country owes its existence to its founding king, Moshoeshoe, who in the early nineteenth century gathered together several disparate refugee populations—which became known as the Basotho people—and created a small enclave in the mountains.

The Basotho have worked aggressively to develop their economy and improve their educational system. However, Lesotho has one of the world's highest nationwide prevalences of HIV/AIDS. In spite of the country's grim health situation, international observers remained hopeful that the stabilization of the government and the king's forthright approach to the AIDS crisis would improve life in Lesotho.

General Information

• Full name of country: Kingdom of Lesotho
• Former name(s): Basutoland
• Region: Africa
• Nationality: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) (noun), Basotho (adjective)
• Official language: English, Sesotho
• Population: 2,210,646 (2023 est.)
• Population growth: 0.76% (2023 est.)
• Currency (money): Lesotho loti
• Land area: 30,355 sq km (11,720 sq miles)
• Time zone: UTC +2
• Capital: Maseru
• Flag: The flag of the Kingdom of Lesotho features a tricolor design of three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white (middle), and green (bottom). Centered in the white band is a traditional conical black hat associated with the Basotho people, called a mokorotlo (or Basotho hat). Concepts represented by the colors of the flag include Africa, peace, prosperity, and rain.
• Motto: “Khotso, Pula, Nala” (Peace, Rain, Wealth)
• Independence: October 4, 1966 (from the UK)
• Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal
• National anthem: "Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona" (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers), by Francois Coillard/Ferdinand-Samuel Laur
• National holiday: Independence Day, October 4 (1966)
• Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Almost all of Lesotho's population is ethnic Sotho. A small proportion of the population, less than one percent, is of European or Asian extraction. About 96 percent of Basotho (as people from Lesotho are called) are practicing Christians, while roughly 4 percent follow other religious beliefs (2014 estimates).

Lesotho’s official languages are English and Sesotho. Zulu and Xhosa are also commonly spoken.

Most of Lesotho's population lives in small rural villages of fewer than 250 people. Its largest city is the capital, Maseru, with a population of 202,000 (2018 estimate); the next largest city, Teyateyaneng, is less than half the size. Although many Basotho men have made their livings from mining in South Africa, life generally revolves around agriculture. Women do much of the hard farming work in common fields around the village, while young boys grow up herding flocks in the shared herding grounds.

Basotho live in extended family units, although the thousands of orphans left behind by the AIDS pandemic has changed family structures in the country. Because of illness, political instability, drought, and a drop in South African mining jobs, about 49.7 percent of Lesotho's people live below the poverty line (2017 estimate).

Lesotho has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. In 2020, it was estimated that 21.1 percent of Lesotho’s adult population had HIV/AIDS. The disease’s negative influence is apparent in the country's human development statistics. The average life expectancy in Lesotho is 59.87 years (2023 estimate). Infant mortality is at an average of 47.04 deaths for every 1,000 live births (2023 estimate). Median age in the country is only 24.7 years (2020 estimate). Lesotho ranked 168th on the 2022 UN Human Development Index.

Indigenous People: The San were the earliest known inhabitants of the region that is now Lesotho. Displaced by small groups from the Nguni branch of Africa's Bantu-speaking peoples during the early modern era, the San left traces of their existence in cave paintings and simple weapons.

The Bantu-speaking Mapolane, Maphetla and Baphuthi, and the Bafokeng, first speakers of Sesotho, eventually displaced the San and collectively became known as the Sotho peoples. In the early nineteenth century, the Zulu empire (also Bantu) expanded through raids and warfare, and refugees fled toward the mountains. Between 1815 and 1823, King Moeshoeshoe gathered together locals and refugees to make a stand against the African Zulu. Today, all of their descendants are considered Basotho, citizens of the nation founded by Moeshoeshoe.

Education: Lesotho has the oldest formal education system in Africa. Because young boys are sent to watch herds while the girls attend school, Lesotho is one of the few countries in the world where the literacy rate among women is significantly higher than that among men—in 2021, the estimated literacy rate for women was 88.8 percent, while for men it was 72.9 percent. In 2021, Lesotho spent 8.7 percent of its GDP on education.

Founded by French missionaries, the educational system was financially supported by British colonial bureaucrats after 1868, and is still maintained through a tense balance between churches and government administration.

The first seven years of school have been free since 2000 and compulsory since 2010. Secondary education can be attained through a general course of education, a three-year course to obtain the Junior's Certificate and then a two-year course to receive the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate, or technical or vocational training.

Students may receive a tertiary level degree at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) or the Limkokwing University campus in Maseru, or at one of the numerous specialized degree institutions in Lesotho, including one of two National Teacher Training Colleges (NTTC), Lerotholi Polytechnic, the National Health Training College (NHTC), one of several nursing colleges, and the Lesotho Agricultural College (LAC).

As part of the government's aggressive campaign to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, primary school curricula now includes instruction in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

Health Care: Lesotho's top health care priority is the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV/AIDS. In association with this effort, Lesotho focuses its health care on basic family, prenatal, infant, and childcare. Lesotho has also prioritized programs to prevent and treat tuberculosis.

The country has a centralized, government-run network of hospitals, clinics, and health centers available to most of the population. This network includes a flight service to transport doctors to the most remote mountainous areas. With financial support from the government, Christian Health Association provides most of the primary health care services in the country's less-accessible rural areas. Patients requiring the most specialized care are taken to South African hospitals.

Lesotho also has a strong market in traditional medicines, including the use of indigenous medicinal plants like wormwood, bitter aloe, wild sugar bush, and parsnip tree.

Food: While a variety of food is readily available in Lesotho's urban areas, the AIDS epidemic and severe poverty have caused food shortages throughout the rest of the country. Many of Lesotho's citizens, and particularly its orphans, survive with the help of relief organizations that have been bringing food into the small nation for years.

Farmers traditionally grow corn (maize), wheat, pulses, sorghum, and barley, as well as livestock to feed the country. Porridge (called motoho), maize, tropical fruits and vegetables provide the basic diet of the Basotho. The rosehips of the sweetbriar bush are also part of Lesotho's traditional diet.

Arts & Entertainment: Much of Basotho life revolves around music. Young boys can be found playing the lekolulu, a type of flute. The setolo-tolo is a stringed instrument played with the mouth, and generally played by men. The qwadinyana, a single string fiddle, is also prevalent among the herdsmen of Maluti. As in other African nations, Lesotho's musical tastes have become a vibrant blend of traditional music with jazz, rock, or reggae-inspired contemporary music.

Basotho artisans craft traditional tapestries, tribal wools, and folk art. The Lesotho government has created a market center for all of these items in the town of Teyateyaneng (called "TY" for short).

Lesotho celebrates its internationally renowned Morija Arts and Cultural Festival every year with traditional singing, dancing, and children's activities.

Holidays: The predominantly Christian Basotho celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Day (in May). A national holiday in honor of Lesotho founder, King Moshoeshoe, is observed on March 11. The Basotho also celebrate King Letsie's birthday on July 17, and National Independence Day on October 4.

Environment and Geography

Topography: The entire country of Lesotho sits at a high elevation amidst the Drakensberg, Maluti, and Thaba Putsoa mountains. The country's highest point, at Thabana Ntlenyana, is at an elevation of 3,482 meters (11,424 feet). At its lowest point, where the Orange River meets the Makhaleng River, Lesotho reaches an elevation of 1,400 meters (4,593 feet).

The country's most rugged, mountainous terrain is found in the east, near the city of Mokhotlong. In the interior, the terrain softens into foothills, running toward the lowlands in the west. The Orange (Senqu) River Valley cuts across the country from the northeast to the southwest.

Natural Resources: Lesotho's mountainous landscape hides caches of diamonds, sand, clay, and building stone. During the twentieth century, Lesotho's most valuable natural resource was the agricultural and grazing land that sustained the Basotho and the miners who worked in South Africa's diamond mines. In recent years, however, Lesotho has produced revenue by selling portions of its ample water supply to the more developed cities in neighboring South Africa.

Plants & Animals: Most of Lesotho's landscape is treeless, either because of its high elevation, or in the case of certain regions, deforestation created by the population's needs for fuel and building materials. In the remaining forested areas, white stinkwood, wild olive, highland protea, and mountain cabbage trees grow naturally. Fruit trees bearing apples, apricots, pears, and quince have been introduced to the landscape over centuries, and thrive in the mountain climate.

Many of the animals that once roamed across Lesotho are now gone. However, different species of hare, rabbits, and porcupine still live in the grasslands, along with diminished species such as deer, African elephants, and lions. Trout and carp are plentiful in the rivers and streams of Lesotho, and more than 300 species of birds still inhabit the various regions of the country.

Climate: Lesotho's climate is unusually cool because of the country's high elevation. During the winter months from May to September, temperatures in the highlands fall to –18° Celsius (0° Fahrenheit), and to –7° Celsius (20° Fahrenheit) in the lowlands. Snow in the highlands is a regular occurrence all winter, but rapidly changing conditions in the mountains can bring a sudden hailstorm or snowfall at any time of year.

During the summer months from October to April, lowland temperatures rise to about 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit), while the highlands reach a significantly cooler 18° Celsius (64° Fahrenheit). Lesotho's hottest months are January and February. The rainy season lasts from March to May, and then returns in October and November. Average rainfall is a plentiful 760 millimeters (30 inches) per year. Afternoon thunderstorms are common.

Economy

Lesotho's economy relies on commodities exports. The country's abundant water resources are also important and aid in the production of electricity. Lesotho generates enough electricity for its own needs, as well as a surplus, which is exported.

Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which facilitates trade between African countries in the region. As part of the Common Monetary Area, Lesotho uses the South African Rand as well as its own currency, the loti. In 2021, Lesotho's gross domestic product (GDP, purchasing power parity) was US$5.236 billion (2017 dollars). Its per capita GDP was an estimated US$2,300.

Industry: Lesotho's largest industries are food and beverages processing (including milling and canning), leather and jute processing, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, and tourism. In 1998, the Lesotho government completed work on a hydropower facility that allows the country to sell water to South Africa.

A strong and growing textile and apparel industry has also established itself in the country.

Agriculture: Subsistence agriculture and herds of livestock still form the foundation of economic life in Lesotho. The majority of Lesotho's labor force works in agriculture; most of the resident population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, however. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a negative impact on agricultural production throughout the country, adding to poverty and food shortages.

Tourism: Lesotho has a small tourism industry that has regained its footing since the political situation in the country stabilized in 2002. In 2022 the industry contributed 12.5 percent to Lesotho's GDP. Tourists are drawn to the country's natural beauty, including its dramatic mountains and valleys, and rich cultural heritage. Nonetheless, the country's health problems and security concerns have limited the development of the tourism sector.

Government

After being established as a kingdom in the early nineteenth century, Lesotho underwent a long period of foreign rule. Repeated losses to the Boers (South African farmers of Dutch extraction) prompted Lesotho's founding king to seek protection from the British government in 1868. Only three years later, the British relinquished control of the territory to South Africa, but took it back after the 1880 war with the Boers.

Basotho leaders formed the Basotholand National Council in 1910, petitioning the British government for semi-autonomous status in the aftermath of World War II. Lesotho gained its independence as Basotholand, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy on the British model, in 1966. The government changed the name of the country soon thereafter.

After a 1970 election defeat, Lesotho's first prime minister suspended the constitution and expelled the king. A 1986 coup overthrew the government, possibly with assistance from South Africa, which had imposed sanctions based on Lesotho's criticism of the apartheid system. Another coup by the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) in 1991 sent the king, Moshoeshoe II, into exile. His son, King Letsie III, succeeded him.

Letsie III attempted to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father, but with no success. This led him to stage a military coup in 1994 to overthrow the BCP. Members of the Southern African Development Community entered negotiations to reinstate the BCP government; Letsie III agreed to this on the condition that his father would be reinstalled as head of state. Moshoeshoe II resumed the throne in 1995, but his death in a 1996 auto accident put Letsie back on the throne.

Civil violence continued through the end of the 1990s, resulting in the entrance of South African troops to defend Lesotho's ruling party, and a postponement of elections scheduled for 2000.

Since that time, Lesotho appears to have recovered from the instability of the twentieth century. The 2002 elections went off as planned and both the monarchy and parliamentary branches of government appear to have accepted the terms of the constitution. The nation's first coalition government was formed in 2012 but collapsed in 2015; following an alleged military coup, snap elections were held.

The parliament consists of a thirty-three member Senate, with twenty-two chiefs and eleven members chosen by the king and the thirteen-member Council of State; and a 120-member National Assembly, with eighty members elected by direct popular vote to five-year terms and forty members elected by proportional vote. The office of chief of state (the monarchy) is hereditary (and purely ceremonial), while the head of government is a prime minister selected by the majority party in the Assembly.

Interesting Facts

• The first King Moshoeshoe gathered his people in a natural mountain stronghold called Thaba-Bosiu to successfully fight off the Boers and the British.
• At the Masitise Cave House near Quthing in southern Lesotho, visitors can see dinosaur footprints dating back 180 million years.
• Lesotho's Sehlabathebe National Park and neighboring uKhahlamba National Park in South Africa were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
• One of the world's first commercial networks for 5G mobile technology was set up in Lesotho in 2018.

Bibliography

"Lesotho—2023 Annual Research: Key Highlights." Economic Impact Factsheet, World Travel and Tourism Council, 2023, researchhub.wttc.org/factsheets/lesotho. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lesotho." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 14 Nov. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lesotho/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lesotho." World Health Organization, 2023, www.who.int/countries/lso/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lesotho Country Profile." BBC News, 8 June 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13728324. Accessed 2 June 2022.

“Human Development Insights.” Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 2022, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Rosenberg, Scott, and Richard F. Weisfelder. Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. 2nd ed., Scarecrow, 2013.