Lesotho Attractions

There are daily bus services and flights from Johannesburg.

Topography

The whole of Lesotho lies at heights of 1,000m/3,300ft and above, but almost everywhere the plateau rises to 2,000m/6,600ft or more. Through the mountains the Orange River and its tributaries have carved gorges up to 800m/2625ft deep, with innumerable waterfalls at breaks in the gorges. The Maletsunyane Falls (192m/630ft) are the highest in southern Africa. The plateau is bounded on the east by the Drakensberg, with Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest mountain in southern Africa (3,482m/11,424ft), and on the west by the Maluti Mountains (3,277m/10,752ft) and the Thaba Putsoa range (3096m/10,158ft). To the west the highland plateau falls down to the lowlands, with hills ranging in height between 1,200 and 2000m (3,900 and 6,600ft), which are traversed by the broad bed of the Caledon River, forming the border with the Orange Free State. This region, amounting to around a quarter of the country's area, is the main area of settlement and economic activity.

Climate

In the lowlands the climate is temperate, with average temperatures ranging between 8°C/46°F in July and 21°C/70°F in January. Average annual rainfall is around 700-800mm/28-31in., most of it occurring in summer.

In the mountains the temperature falls below freezing point in winter (May-September) and there may be falls of snow.

The vegetation at higher altitudes consists of mountain pasture and lower down of grassland. There are trees (for example olives) only in sheltered valleys.

Lesotho has a population of 1,860,000, with an average density of 61 to the sq. km (158 to the sq.mi). Most of the population live in the western lowlands, while large areas on the highland plateau are either very scantily populated or completely empty of population. Four-fifths of the population live in country areas, but increasing numbers of people are now moving to the capital, Maseru.

The rate of population growth has increased over recent decades and is now just under 3% a year - a rate of increase which has led to overpopulation.

Lesotho has one of the most uniform population structures in Africa. Almost 100% of the population belong to the Sotho, a group of Bantu tribes which moved into the region in the early 19th C. There are around 2,000 whites and Indians.

43% of the population are Roman Catholics, 30% Protestants and 12% Anglicans. There are also minorities of Muslims and believers in natural religions.

This primarily agricultural country has a low per capita income, though the gross domestic product is rising at an annual rate of around 6%. Foreign debt amounts to about a quarter of GDP, and there is high inflation.

78% of the population are employed in agriculture, the remaining 22% in industry and the services sector. In view of the limited job opportunities in Lesotho - more than a third of the population is unemployed - some 40% of the male population of working age work in South Africa, mainly as miners. These migrant workers bring in almost half Lesotho's gross domestic product - reflecting the country's heavy dependency on South Africa. And now that many mines are closing down in South Africa unemployment in Lesotho has risen.

In spite of the high proportion of the population engaged in agriculture, it contributes only around a fifth of the country's GDP, since most of the farmers produce only subsistence crops. Land is the inalienable property of the nation, administered by the king; but arable land (unlike grazing land) is granted to individual farmers on an annual basis. The principal crops are maize, millet, sorghum, wheat and vegetables. Yields have fallen in recent years as a result of the unfavorable climate, soil erosion and antiquated methods of cultivation and are no longer sufficient to meet the country's needs, so that, particularly for the urban population, food has to be imported, mainly from South Africa. Important contributions to the export trade are made by the rearing of angora goats for the production of mohair wool, of which Lesotho is the world's fourth largest producer, and by sheep-farming; in recent years cut flowers and strawberries have also become useful exports. Since the great majority of the population live by stock-farming, over-grazing has become a major problem.

In the processing industries a dominant place is occupied by subsidiaries of South African firms, which take advantage of low labor costs and state subsidies to develop labor-intensive industries such as carpet-weaving, the manufacture of candles and textile production. Imports consist mainly of foodstuffs, machinery and oil products, while the principal exports are clothing, footwear and wool (mohair) - though imports considerably exceed exports.

Lesotho is a member of the South African Customs Union, which is its most important trading partner after Switzerland and the European Union. Of major economic importance to Lesotho are remittances from Lesothian migrant workers, the tourist trade (mainly concentrated in the capital, Maseru) and various forms of development aid.

One of the world's largest hydro-electric and water supply schemes is at present under way in Lesotho. Six large dams which are being built on the upper course of the Orange/Senqu River will pound 10 million cubic meters (2.2 billion gallons) of water, supplying electric power for Lesotho and water for Johannesburg.

History

The territory of Lesotho was inhabited in prehistoric times (probably from about 3,500 B.C.) by Bushmen who lived by hunting and gathering and have left innumerable rock drawings as evidence of their presence. From the 17th C a.d. they were driven west by tribes practicing agriculture and stock-farming. In the 1820s large numbers of refugees fleeing before Shaka's Zulu warriors found their way into the mountainous territory of what is now Lesotho. Almost all of them belonged to the Sotho group of tribes, which around 1830 were welded by Chief Moshoeshoe I into a nation state under his rule. This state, which included not only the territory of Lesotho but considerable tracts of the Orange Free State, came under increasing pressure from the Boers moving north out of the Cape Colony in the Great Trek. Foreseeing military defeat, Moshoeshoe asked in 1867 for British protection, and after much valuable land had been lost to the Boers the rest of his territory was administered from 1868 as part of the British Cape Colony and in 1871 was incorporated in the colony. After a number of rebellions the territory became directly subject to the British crown as the protectorate of Basutoland (1884). In 1903 a National Council was established to advise the colonial administration. When the chiefs were found to be misusing their powers these were restricted by the British government in 1934. During the two world wars Basutoland was on the Allied side but took no part in the fighting.

After the introduction of democratic principles from 1944 onwards the Basutoland Congress Party, with a policy of radical reform, won a majority in 1960, but in 1965, in the country's first direct election, they were defeated by the conservative Basotho National Party, led by Leabua Jonathan, who now became prime minister. On October 4th 1966 (now the country's National Day) Lesotho became independent as a constitutional monarchy under King Moshoeshoe II but remained in the Commonwealth. Its policies were marked by dependence on South Africa, and it took a very cautious line on the question of apartheid. After a coup d'état in 1970, when Prime Minister Jonathan declared a state of national emergency, the 1966 constitution was suspended, the opposition parties banned and the king sent into exile. In 1983 a law was passed ending the state of emergency, establishing new constitutional structures and providing for free elections, but in 1986 this was set aside by a military coup. Political parties were again banned, the prime minister was deposed and a military council took over the government. In 1993 a new constitution came into force. King Letsie III was crowned and a free election was held. Then in 1994 the king unexpectedly dissolved Parliament and dismissed Prime Minister Mokhehle. After demonstrations by Mokhehle's supporters the king abdicated in favor of his father, who had been living in exile in Britain, and a month later Moshoeshoe reinstated Mokhehle as prime minister. Since the abolition of apartheid in South Africa relations between the two countries have returned to normal.