Lesotho Fact Sheet
| OFFICIAL NAME | Kingdom of Lesotho |
| SHORT FORM | Lesotho (formerly known as Basutoland) |
| CAPITAL | Maseru |
| ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS | Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale’sHoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha’s Nek, Quthing, Thaba Tseka |
| NATIONAL MOTTO | Khotso, Pula, Nala (Peace, Rain and Prosperity) |
| AREA | 30,355 sq.km (11,718 sq.mi.) about the size of Belgium |
| LOCATION | Situated between latitudes 28º and 31º South and Longitudes 27º and 30º East |
| TOPOGRAPHY | Highveld, plateau and mountains |
| ALTITUDE | Ranges from 1388 to 3 400 metres above sea level |
| TIME ZONE | Central African Time = GMT+2 |
| CLIMATE | Temperate; hot summers (about 32 Cº/ Fº 90) and cool to cold winter-snowfall in the highlands (about –7 Cº/ Fº20) |
| POPULATION | 2.2million (2004 estimates) |
| NATIONALITY | Mosotho (singular) Basotho (plural) |
| OFFICIAL LANGUAGES | English and Sesotho |
| RELIGIONS | Predominantly Christian comprised of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical, and other denominations. Indigenous believes are still widely practiced. |
| TYPE OF GOVERNMENT | Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy |
| HEAD OF STATE | His Majesty King Letsie III |
| HEAD OF GOVERNMENT | The Right Honourable the Prime Minister, Mr. Pakalitha B. Mosisili |
| LEGISLATIVE | Bicameral parliament, Senate (33 members) National Assembly (120 members) |
| ELECTION MODEL | Mixed Member Proportional |
| JUDICIAL | Customary Courts, Magistrate’s Court, High Court, and Court of Appeal |
| SUFFRAGE | 18 years |
| MAIN EXPORTS | Labour and water to the Republic of South Africa, textiles, footwear, to the United States, European Union and Canada, wool and mohair products |
| MAIN IMPORTS | Automobiles, Machinery, Building Material, Fuel, Medicine, corn and other foodstuffs |
| AGRICULTURE | Mostly subsistence farming; corn, wheat, sorghum, barley, beans, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, vegetables, fruit trees, |
| LIVESTOCK | Cattle, sheep, goats, (wool and mohair) horses and donkeys |
| CURRENCY | Loti (singular), Maloti (Plural) the currency is pegged at par with the South African Rand (ZAR). |
| MEASUREMENT | Metric System |
| VOLTAGE | 220 – 240 volts |
| DIALLING CODE | International access code +266 |
USEFUL INFORMATION
Distance Table
The Moshoeshoe I International Airport in Maseru connects Lesotho to the world through daily one hour flights to Johannesburg, South Africa, The Highest quality asphalt roads connect Lesotho and the capital Maseru to various main centres in the southern African region:
| Maseru to Durban (South Africa) | 600 km |
| Maseru to East London (South Africa) | 583 km |
| Maseru to Port Elizabeth (South Africa) | 738 km |
| Maseru to Cape Town | 1 165 km |
| Maseru to Johannesburg | 455 km |
| Maseru to Gaborone (Botswana) | 630 km |
| Maseru to Mbabane (Swaziland) | 635 km |
Customs Regulations
All goods brought into Lesotho are subject to customs control and baggage may be subject to examination. Visitors from the Southern African Customs Union (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) are not permitted to bring liquor into Lesotho. The following items are quantities to a total value not exceeding M500.00 per person are allowed under rebate duty: one litre each of wine, spirits or any other alcoholic beverage, 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars, 300ml perfume. Domestic pets, livestock, seeds, bulbs, plants and trees may not be imported without payment of customs duty and are subject to quarantine restrictions. Permits may be obtained from:
The Principal Secretary Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security P.O. Box 24 Maseru 100 LESOTHO
Currency and Banking
Lesotho’s standard unit of currency is the loti (plural Maloti, symbol M), which is equivalent to the South African rand and is divided into 100 lisente (singular sente, symbol s). Notes comprise M200, M100, M50, M20 and M10, coins comprise M5, M2, 50s, 20s, 10s and 5s. Travellers; cheques and most credit cards may be used in Lesotho. There are no restrictions on the amount of money tourists may bring into the country. Lesotho’s three commercial banks, comprising Standard Lesotho Bank, Nedbank and First National Bank, offer currency exchange services in their main Maseru branches. Banks are open Mondays to Fridays from 08;30am to 03:30pm and on Saturdays from 08:30am to 12:00noon. Most retail stores are open Mondays to Fridays from 08:00am to 06:00pm as well as on Saturdays and Sundays from 09:00am to 01:00pm.
