ines for financial sector oversight found gaps in
Liechtenstein's financial services controls that made it vulnerable
to money laundering, but Liechtenstein has become less attractive
as a haven for illicit funds, based on implementation in 2001 of new
anti-money-laundering legislation and improved mutual legal assistance
cooperation with other countries

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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Lesotho

Introduction

Lesotho

Background: Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon
independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in
1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of
military rule.

Geography Lesotho

Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 30,355 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly 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% other: 89% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1998 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, completely surrounded by South Africa;
mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level

People Lesotho

Population: 2,207,954 note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality