Brief presentation of Lesotho

Location: Southern Africa, completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Situated between 28˚ and 31˚ South, and between 27˚ and 30˚ East, Lesotho lies outside the tropics.

Government: A constitutional monarchy with the monarch being head of state. The Prime Minister is head of government and cabinet. Parliament consists of elected Assembly and non-elected Senate.

Size: Approximately 30,355 sq. km.

Population: Approximately 2 million.

Terrain: A mountainous country with all its land lying at altitudes in excess of 1000m. A country popularly described as the “ Mountain Kingdom ” or “ Kingdom in the Sky ”. It is a land of heights and extremes. The mountain Thabana Ntlenyana has the highest peak in Southern Africa at 3482m. ’Maletsunane Falls, with the highest single drop in the Southern hemisphere at 192m, has the highest cliff in the world at 200m.

Climate: Temperate.

Weather: Hot summers and cold winters. There is more incidence of rain in the summer than in the winter.

Nationality: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural).

Capital City: Maseru

Religion: Christianity is the most dominant religion. Other religions include Islam, Hindu and indigenous.

Languages: Official languages are Sesotho and English. Others include Xhosa and Ndebele.