THE WORLD FACTBOOK — Reference Edition 2026

Background: Paramount chief MOSHOESHOE I consolidated what would become Basutoland in the early 19th century and made himself king in 1822. Continuing encroachments by Dutch settlers from the neighboring Orange Free State caused the king to enter into an 1868 agreement with the UK that made Basutoland first a British protectorate and, after 1884, a crown colony. After gaining independence in 1966, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho. The Basotho National Party ruled the country during its first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE II was exiled in 1990, returned to Lesotho in 1992, was reinstated in 1995, and was then succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Batswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections in 2007 were hotly contested, and aggrieved parties disputed how seats were awarded. In 2012, competitive elections saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government -- the first in the country's history -- that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. MOSISILI returned to power in snap elections in 2015 after the collapse of THABANE’s coalition government and an alleged attempted military coup. In 2017, THABANE returned to become prime minister but stepped down in 2020 after being implicated in his estranged wife’s murder. He was succeeded by Moseketsi MAJORO. In 2022, Ntsokoane Samuel MATEKANE was inaugurated as prime minister and head of a three-party coalition.

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
land: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 1,106 km
border countries: South Africa 1,106 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: highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
mean elevation: 2,161 m
Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Land use: agricultural land: 77.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 11.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 65.9% (2023 est.)
forest: 1.1% (2023 est.)
other: 21.1% (2023 est.)
Irrigated land: 12 sq km (2013)
Major rivers (by length in km): Orange river source (shared with South Africa and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 kmnote: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km): Atlantic Ocean drainage: Orange (941,351 sq km)
Population distribution: relatively higher population density in the western half of the nation, with the capital of Maseru and the smaller cities of Mafeteng, Teyateyaneng, and Leribe attracting the most people, as shown in this population distribution map
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
Geography - note: landlocked, surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 m (5,900 ft) above sea level

Population: total: 2,222,962 (2025 est.)
male: 1,099,314
female: 1,123,648
Nationality: noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho
Ethnic groups: Sotho 99.7%, other 0.3% (includes Kwena, Nguni (Hlubi and Phuthi), Zulu)
Languages: Sesotho (official), English (official), Phuthi, Xhosa, Zulu
Religions: Protestant 47.8% (Pentecostal 23.1%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 7.4%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, other Christian 9.1%, non-Christian 1.4%, none 2.3% (2014 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (male 358,137/female 353,618)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 699,197/female 696,626)
65 years and over: 5.4% (2024 est.) (male 44,625/female 75,345)
Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 56.8 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 48.2 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 8.6 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio: 11.6 (2025 est.)
Median age: total: 24 years (2025 est.)
male: 23.4 years
female: 24.3 years
Population growth rate: 0.73% (2025 est.)
Birth rate: 21.68 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate: 10.2 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Population distribution: relatively higher population density in the western half of the nation, with the capital of Maseru and the smaller cities of Mafeteng, Teyateyaneng, and Leribe attracting the most people, as shown in this population distribution map
Urbanization: urban population: 30.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population: 202,000 MASERU (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth: 20.9 years (2014 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio: 478 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 52.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
male: 51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 40.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 60.2 years (2024 est.)
male: 58.1 years
female: 62.3 years
Total fertility rate: 2.49 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate: 1.23 (2025 est.)
Drinking water source: improved: urban: urban: 93% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 65.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 74% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 34.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 26% of population (2022 est.)
Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 10.2% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 13.1% of national budget (2022 est.)
Physician density: 0.24 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: urban: 93.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: rural: rural: 62.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total: total: 71.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban: urban: 6.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural: rural: 37.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 28.3% of population (2022 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 16.6% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita: total: 3.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use: total: 22.8% (2025 est.)
male: 42.4% (2025 est.)
female: 4.1% (2025 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 12.5% (2024 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49): 46.9% (2021 est.)
Child marriage: women married by age 15: 1% (2018)
women married by age 18: 16.4% (2018)
men married by age 18: 1.9% (2018)
Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% GDP): 6.6% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget): 10.4% national budget (2024 est.)
Literacy: total population: 90.4% (2024 est.)
male: 83.2% (2024 est.)
female: 96.6% (2024 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 11 years (2017 est.)
male: 11 years (2017 est.)
female: 11 years (2017 est.)

Environmental issues: overgrazing; severe soil erosion; soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa
International environmental agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Land use: agricultural land: 77.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 11.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 65.9% (2023 est.)
forest: 1.1% (2023 est.)
other: 21.1% (2023 est.)
Urbanization: urban population: 30.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 1.148 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 175,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 973,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 17.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Waste and recycling: municipal solid waste generated annually: 73,500 tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 11.9% (2022 est.)
Total water withdrawal: municipal: 20 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural: 3.8 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
Total renewable water resources: 3.022 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
local short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland
etymology: the name comes from the Sotho people, whose name means "dark-skinned;" Le- is a singular noun prefix; the former name, Basutoland, uses the plural noun prefix, Ba-
Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital: name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the name means "[place of] red sandstones" in the Sesotho language
Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Legal system: mixed system of English common law and Roman-Dutch law; High Court and Court of Appeal review legislative acts
Constitution: history: previous 1959, 1967; latest adopted 2 April 1993 (effectively restoring the 1967 version)
amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage of amendments affecting constitutional provisions, including fundamental rights and freedoms, sovereignty of the kingdom, the office of the king, and powers of Parliament, requires a majority vote by the National Assembly, approval by the Senate, approval in a referendum by a majority of qualified voters, and assent of the king; passage of amendments other than those specified provisions requires at least a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament
International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship: citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel MATEKANE (28 October 2022)
cabinet: consists of the prime minister (appointed by the King on the advice of the Council of State), the deputy prime minister, and 18 other ministers; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the National Assembly
election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary but has no executive or legislative powers under the constitution; under traditional law, the College of Chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine next in line of succession, or serve as regent in the event that a successor is not of mature age
Legislative branch: legislature name: Parliament
legislative structure: bicameral
Legislative branch - lower chamber: chamber name: National Assembly
number of seats: 122 (all directly elected)
electoral system: mixed system
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 11/2/2022
parties elected and seats per party: Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) (56); Democratic Congress (DC) (29); All Basotho Convention (ABC) (8); Basotho Action Party (BAP) (6); Other (20)
percentage of women in chamber: 25%
expected date of next election: October 2027
Legislative branch - upper chamber: chamber name: Senate
number of seats: 33 (11 appointed)
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 10/7/2022
percentage of women in chamber: 21.2%
expected date of next election: November 2027
Judicial branch: highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, such number of justices of appeal as set by Parliament, and the Chief Justice and the puisne judges of the High Court ex officio); High Court (consists of the chief justice and such number of puisne judges as set by Parliament)
judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal president and High Court chief justice appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; puisne judges appointed by the monarch on advice of the Judicial Service Commission, an independent body of judicial officers and officials designated by the monarch; judges of both courts can serve until age 75
subordinate courts: Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional courts; military courts
Political parties: All Basotho Convention or ABC Alliance of Democrats or AD Basotho Action Party or BAP Basotho National Party or BNP Democratic Congress or DC Democratic Party of Lesotho or DPL Lesotho People's Congress or LPC Movement of Economic Change or MEC National Independent Party or NIP Popular Front for Democracy of PFDReformed Congress of Lesotho or RCL
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Tumisang MOSOTHO (since 16 September 2022)
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
email address and website: lesothoembassy@verizon.nethttps://www.gov.ls/
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Thomas HINES (since August 2024)
embassy: 254 Kingsway Avenue, Maseru
mailing address: 2340 Maseru Place, Washington DC 20521-2340
telephone: [266] 22312666
FAX: [266] 22310116
email address and website: USConsularMaseru@state.govhttps://ls.usembassy.gov/
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Independence: 4 October 1966 (from the UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Flag: description: three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green; centered on the white stripe is a black mokorotlo, a traditional Basotho straw hat and national symbolmeaning: blue stands for rain, white for peace, and green for prosperityhistory: the redesigned flag was introduced in 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence
National symbol(s): mokorotio (Basotho hat)
National color(s): blue, white, green, black
National anthem(s): title: "Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona" (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers)
lyrics/music: Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR
history: adopted 1967; music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook
National heritage: total World Heritage Sites: 1 (mixed)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Maloti-Drakensberg Park

Economic overview: lower middle-income economy surrounded by South Africa; environmentally fragile and politically unstable; key infrastructure and renewable energy investments; dire poverty; urban job and income losses due to COVID-19; systemic corruption
Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024: $6.166 billion (2024 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $6 billion (2023 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $5.893 billion (2022 est.)
Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2024: 2.8% (2024 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2023: 1.8% (2023 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2022: 2.4% (2022 est.)
Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2024: $2,600 (2024 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2023: $2,600 (2023 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2022: $2,600 (2022 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $2.272 billion (2024 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024: 6.1% (2024 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 6.3% (2023 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 8.3% (2022 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 6.5% (2024 est.)
industry: 31% (2024 est.)
services: 48% (2024 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 92.9% (2023 est.)
government consumption: 35.6% (2023 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 28.3% (2023 est.)
investment in inventories: -1.1% (2023 est.)
exports of goods and services: 42.9% (2023 est.)
imports of goods and services: -98.6% (2023 est.)
Agricultural products: milk, potatoes, maize, vegetables, fruits, sorghum, wheat, game meat, beans, wool (2023)
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 2.6% (2024 est.)
Labor force: 884,200 (2024 est.)
Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2024: 16.2% (2024 est.)
Unemployment rate 2023: 16.5% (2023 est.)
Unemployment rate 2022: 16.7% (2022 est.)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): total: 24.2% (2024 est.)
male: 17.7% (2024 est.)
female: 36.2% (2024 est.)
Population below poverty line: 49.7% (2017 est.)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income: Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2017: 44.9 (2017 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.7% (2017 est.)
highest 10%: 32.9% (2017 est.)
Remittances: Remittances 2024: 22% of GDP (2024 est.)
Remittances 2023: 22.9% of GDP (2023 est.)
Remittances 2022: 22.6% of GDP (2022 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.13 billion (2022 est.)
expenditures: $1.256 billion (2022 est.)
Public debt: Public debt 2020: 3% of GDP (2020 est.)
Taxes and other revenues: 30.4% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Current account balance: Current account balance 2024: $84.393 million (2024 est.)
Current account balance 2023: -$151.577 million (2023 est.)
Current account balance 2022: -$268.876 million (2022 est.)
Exports: Exports 2024: $983.027 million (2024 est.)
Exports 2023: $885.789 million (2023 est.)
Exports 2022: $1.07 billion (2022 est.)
Exports - partners: South Africa 31%, Belgium 26%, USA 20%, UAE 8%, India 8% (2023)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, garments, wool, power equipment, bedding (2023)
Imports: Imports 2024: $2.083 billion (2024 est.)
Imports 2023: $2.077 billion (2023 est.)
Imports 2022: $2.247 billion (2022 est.)
Imports - partners: South Africa 78%, China 10%, Taiwan 3%, Japan 1%, India 1% (2023)
Imports - commodities: refined petroleum, fabric, trucks, garments, cotton fabric (2023)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024: $1.008 billion (2024 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $854.089 million (2023 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $771.278 million (2022 est.)
Debt - external: Debt - external 2023: $928.019 million (2023 est.)
Exchange rates: Currency: maloti (LSL) per US dollar -
Exchange rates 2024: 18.329 (2024 est.)
Exchange rates 2023: 18.45 (2023 est.)
Exchange rates 2022: 16.356 (2022 est.)
Exchange rates 2021: 14.779 (2021 est.)
Exchange rates 2020: 16.459 (2020 est.)

Electricity access: electrification - total population: 50% (2022 est.)
electrification - urban areas: 83.6%
electrification - rural areas: 37.7%
Electricity: installed generating capacity: 104,000 kW (2023 est.)
consumption: 833.009 million kWh (2023 est.)
imports: 453.992 million kWh (2023 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 102.88 million kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
hydroelectricity: 99.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Coal: production: 57,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
consumption: 81,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
exports: 1 metric tons (2023 est.)
imports: 24,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Petroleum: refined petroleum consumption: 7,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Energy consumption per capita: Total energy consumption per capita 2023: 8.117 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 7,000 (2023 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2023 est.) less than 1
Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 1.64 million (2024 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 70 (2024 est.)
Broadcast media: 1 state-owned TV station and 2 state-owned radio stations; most private broadcast media transmitters are connected to government radio signal towers; satellite TV subscription service available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters obtainable (2019)
Internet country code: .ls
Internet users: percent of population: 48% (2023 est.)
Broadband - fixed subscriptions: total: 9,000 (2023 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2023 est.) less than 1

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 7P
Airports: 34 (2025)

Military and security forces: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) (2025)
Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2024: 1.5% of GDP (2024 est.)
Military Expenditures 2023: 1.6% of GDP (2023 est.)
Military Expenditures 2022: 1.6% of GDP (2022 est.)
Military Expenditures 2021: 1.5% of GDP (2021 est.)
Military Expenditures 2020: 1.6% of GDP (2020 est.)
Military and security service personnel strengths: approximately 2,000 active Defense Forces (2025)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: the LDF is lightly armed and has a small inventory of mostly older or secondhand equipment of European, South African, and US origin (2025)
Military service age and obligation: 20-30 years of age for voluntary military service for both men and women (2026)
Military - note: the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) is responsible for the maintenance of the country's sovereignty and the preservation of internal security; in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa; the LDF is a small force that began in 1964 as the Police Mobile Unit (PMU); the PMU was designated as the Lesotho Paramilitary Force in 1980 and became the Royal Lesotho Defense Force in 1986; it was renamed the Lesotho Defense Force in 1993 (2025)

Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees: 610 (2024 est.)

Lesotho