Lesotho

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Lesotho spends 2.3 percent of its GDP, or US$45 million on its military. This makes Lesotho the 152nd highest military spender representing 0.002 percent of total global military expenditure.

The Army of Lesotho, called the Lesotho defence force, consists of an Air Force and an army. The main task of the Lesotho defence force is to maintain territorial integrity as well as internal security, but in the past, it has participated in military coups as well.

Military membership

Lesotho is a member of three international military organizations which makes it the 162nd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Lesotho has not partaken in any international war.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Lesotho is a member of eight international political organizations which makes it the 175th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
African Union
Commonwealth of Nations
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Criminal Court
Interpol
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

As a result of a peaceful transition towards a democratic government at the end of the 20th century, Lesotho is ranked as the 69th most democratic state in the world. One of the largest drawbacks within Lesotho are concerns about the fairness of the democratic process as well as accusations of corruption concerning the democratic process.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Currently, the politics of Lesotho are in the form of a democratic constitutional monarchy with the Prime Minister being head of government. As a result of the military coup, the political powers of the king have been reduced to ceremonial functions with its main task to symbolize national unity.

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Known for being the only state that is fully elevated above one kilometer or 3300 feet, the kingdom of Lesotho is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The territory of Lesotho was under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and was known as Basutoland until it became an independent state in 1966 with a king as head of state. Shortly after its independence, a military coup took place in 1970 which led to the instalment of a military government as well as the crowning of a new king. Since then, there have been calls for more democracy as well as a high level of suppression by the government. .

Lesotho is a landlocked state which is fully surrounded by South Africa. Because of its average elevation being above one kilometer, Lesotho is one of the most mountainous states in the world. There is only a strip of relatively low-lying terrain that spans from its western border to its northern border with South Africa. Because of its high elevation, most of its terrain consists of grasslands with some areas being sparsely populated by trees.

It is the 137th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 30,507 square kilometers or 11,779 square miles. This makes Lesotho slightly smaller than Belgium and slightly larger than Armenia.

It has a total water surface area of 30 square kilometers or 12 square miles. This makes Lesotho the 177th largest state in the world.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

There are several rivers flowing throughout Lesotho with the Oranjerivier being the largest. There are also two larger water reservoirs located in the center of Lesotho which are supplied by two or more rivers.

The climate of Lesotho is characterized as an Alpine climate with hot summers and cold winters which are far below freezing temperature. Its average temperature is the 139th highest in the world with 12.7 degrees Celsius or 54.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its summer period has an average temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius or 70.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This mainly occurs during its summer season which spans from December to February.

Its winter season has an average temperature of 7.5 degrees Celsius or 45.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This mainly occurs between June and September.

The precipitation in Lesotho is 29 inches of 73.6 centimetres per year. This makes Lesotho the 129th state with the highest amount of precipitation. The majority of rainfall occurs during autumn and winter with the Highlands area is receiving three times as much precipitation then its low-lying areas.

The capital of Lesotho, Maseru, is home to approximately 250,000 people. The capital that is closest located to Maseru is Pretoria South Africa with a distance of 419 kilometers or 216 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Maseru is Majuro of the Marshall Islands with a distance of 15,497 kilometers or 9629 miles.

Lesotho is considered to be among the least developed states in Africa. The largest provider of employment is the Lesotho government which gets most of its government revenue from custom duties. However, some of the largest drawbacks from the Lesotho economy are the high dependence on subsistence farming as well as the import of 80 percent of its food demand. The majority of its export products are clothing as well as diamonds which are mainly exported to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which combined represent 25 percent of all exports. Most of its imports, mainly food, comes from South Africa which is solely responsible for 70 percent of all imports.

Lesotho is the 159th most economically connected state in the world and is a member of 10 international economic organizations. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Southern African Development Community
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 77

Its GDP is the 170th highest in the world and is around US$2.3 billion which represents 0.003 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$76,379 or US$197,822 per square mile. This makes Lesotho the 154th highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is the 167th highest in the world and stands at US$1075 per year.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is US$3203 which is the 161st highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 2.2 million people, Lesotho is the 144th most populous state in the world. The Sotho tribe is the overwhelming majority residing within Lesotho. This has led to Sesotho being the official language within Lesotho along with English. Other languages are mainly represented by ethnic minority African tribes that reside within Lesotho. The most prevalent being the Zulu and the Xhosa population.

It is the state with the 112th highest population density in the world with 71 people per square kilometer or 184 people per square mile.

Just under 20 percent of the population, or just over 400,000 people have migrated to other states. This makes Lesotho the 111th state with the highest number of emigrants representing 0.17 percent of total global emigration. The main reasons for emigration are the low economic opportunities within Lesotho as well as a high labour demand for medium skilled labourers in South Africa, which receives 80 percent of all emigrants from Lesotho.

Around 0.13 percent, or less than 5000 people have migrated to Lesotho. The main reasons for emigration are economic opportunities for businessmen within the clothing sector or the mining sector as well as immigration through marriage. Immigration to Lesotho is the 150th highest in the world representing less than 0.001 percent of total global immigration.

The literacy rate in Lesotho is 78.3 percent which is the 147th highest in the world. This low literacy rate is mainly found in the older generation as the government of Lesotho has provided free education for its citizens since 2010 with enrolment rates of more than 85 percent.

The health care system of Lesotho is among the least developed healthcare systems in the world. The infant mortality rate as well as neonatal deaths are among the highest in the world. This, combined with a lack of nutrition, high amount of poverty as well as the prevalence of communicable diseases has led to an average life expectancy of 55.7 years, which is the 191st highest in the world. Women reach an average age of 58.9 years while men reach an average age of 52.5 years. The main causes of death are communicable diseases with tuberculosis being the largest cause of death. Another contributor to the low life expectancy is the high HIV rate which is estimated to be present in more than 23 percent of the population.

The government of Lesotho provides freedom of religion towards all religions. Infringements on religion by the government has been fairly low.

Christianity is the largest religion in Lesotho and is followed by 95.8 percent of the population which makes Lesotho did 50th most Christian state in the world. The largest denomination is Catholicism which is followed by Protestantism as well as Methodists.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

There are less than 5000 Muslims residing in Lesotho which represent 0.1 percent of the total population. This makes Lesotho the 162nd most Islamic state in the world. The majority of Muslims belong to the Sunni denomination closely followed by the Shia denomination. Most Muslims in Lesotho originate from the Indian subcontinent with Pakistan being the largest supplier of Muslims.

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Lesotho.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Lesotho.

Judaism has been present in Lesotho since the 19th century when Jewish communities settled in the British occupied territories in Africa. However, after the establishment of Israel, many Jews emigrated from these territories. Presently, around 0.03 percent of the population of Lesotho is Jewish.

Other religions are represented by 0.1 percent of the population and are mainly practiced by the Sesotho people themselves which have religious practices such as rain dances as well as ancestral worshiping.

It is estimated that just over two percent of the population of Lesotho does not adhere to any religion.