y smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: total: 909 km

border countries: South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: junction of the Orange and
Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some
diamonds and other minerals

Land use: arable land: 11%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 66%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: population pressure forcing settlement
in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and
soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls,
stores, and redirects water to South Africa

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping

Geography - note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

Lesotho People

Population: 2,177,062

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994)

15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404)

65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.49% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48