erate; 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 : Mount Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 11%
permanent crops : NA%
permanent pastures: 66%
forests and woodland : NA%
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, soil
exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project will control,
store, and redirect water to South Africa

Environment - international agreements:
party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping

Geography - note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa

@Lesotho:People

Population: 2,007,814 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (male 408,723; female 406,849)
15-64 years : 55% (male 533,327; female 566,684)
65 years and over: 4% (male 37,990; female 54,241) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.83% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 32.19 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 13.92 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 80.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 51.66 years
male: 49.48 years
female: 53.91 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.22 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho

Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Religions: Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Literacy:
definition : age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 71.3%
male : 81.1%
female: 62.3% (1995 est.)

@Lesotho:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesoth