Lesotho: Fact file
| Name | Kingdom of Lesotho |
| Area | 30 355 sq km (Murison 2001) |
| Capital | Maseru |
| Major cities | Teyateyaneng, Maputsoe, Hlotse, Mafeteng (City Population 2005) |
| Boundaries | South Africa (landlocked enclave) |
| Population | 1 798 000, 2004 (UNDP 2006) |
| Pop growth rate | -0.3%, 2004-15 (UNDP 2006) |
| Urbanisation | 18.5%, 2004 (UNDP 2006) |
| Life expectancy | Female 36.2 yrs, male 34.0 yrs, 2004 (UNDP 2006) |
| Infant mortality | 61/1000, 2004 (UNDP 2006) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 23.2%, 2006 (UNAIDS 2006) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 90.3%, male 73.7%, 2004 (UNDP 2006) |
| Legal system | Mixture of Roman-Dutch and English Common Law (africa in sight) |
| Independence | October 4, 1966 (from UK) |
| GDP | US$1.573 billion, 2006 est (IMF 2006) |
| GDP per capita | US$653.37, 2006 est (IMF 2006) |
| GDP growth rate | 1.6%, 2006 est (IMF 2006) |
| Main exports | Food, textiles (Murison 2001) |
| Currency | 1 Loti (plural: Maloti) = 100 Lisente (sing: Sente) (Murison 2001) |
| Unemployment | 63.5%, 2004 (Global Policy Network et al 2006) |
| Inflation rate | 4.6%, 2006 est (IMF 2006) |
| External debt ratio | 41.9% of GDP, 2006 (IMF 2007) |
| Ethnic groups | Basotho 99.7, Asians, whites (One World undated) |
| Languages | Official: Sesotho (South Sotho), English. Others Phuthi, Zulu, Xhosa (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Christian 91% (Roman Catholic 37.5%, Protestant 18%, Independent 11.8%), African Traditional 7.7%. (Religious Freedom undated) |
Sources
AFRICA IN SIGHT UNDATED "Legal System", [www] http://www.africainsight.org/create_report_2.php?ids%5B%5D=legal_system [opens new window] (September 2005).
CITY POPULATION 2005 "Lesotho" [www] http://www.citypopulation.de/Lesotho.html [opens new window].
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Lesotho" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Lesotho [opens new window].
GLOBAL POLICY NETWORK & LESOTHO CLOTHING & ALLIED WORKERS' UNION 2006 'Highlights of current labor market conditions in Lesotho' [www] http://www.gpn.org/data/lesotho/lesotho-analysis.doc [MS Word document, opens new window].
IMF 2007 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2007/AFR/ENG/sreo0407.pdf, 100 [PDF document, opens new window].
IMF 2006 World Economic Outlook Database, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/02/data/index.aspx [opens new window].
MURISON, K (ed) 2001 Africa South of the Sahara 2002, Europa Publications, 532, 534.
ONE WORLD UNDATED "Lesotho" IN Nations Online, [www] http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/lesotho.htm [opens new window] (September 2005).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UNDATED "Nation profile: Lesotho", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Lesotho/rbodies.html [opens new window] (September 2005).
UNAIDS 2006 "Lesotho", [www] http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/lesotho.asp [opens in window] (September 2005).
UNDP 2006 "Lesotho", IN Human Development Reports, [www] http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_LSO.html [opens new window] (September 2005).