Kingdom of Lesotho 'Muso oa Lesotho (Sesotho) | |
|---|---|
 Location of Lesotho (dark blue) – in Africa (light blue & dark grey) | |
| Capital and largest city | Maseru 29°28′S 27°56′E / 29.467°S 27.933°E |
| Official languages | |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Religion (2015)[1] |
|
| Demonym(s) |
Lesothan (Interchangeable) Lesothonian |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Letsie III |
| Moeketsi Majoro | |
• Deputy Prime Minister | Mathibeli Mokhothu |
| Sephiri Motanyane | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| National Assembly | |
| Independence | |
• from the United Kingdom | 4 October 1966 |
| Area | |
• Total | 30,355 km2 (11,720 sq mi) (137th) |
• Water (%) | 0.0032% |
| Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 2,108,328[2][3] (144th) |
• 2004 census | 2,031,348 |
• Density | 68.1/km2 (176.4/sq mi) (138th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $7.448 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $3,868[4] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $2.721 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $1,413[4] |
| Gini (2015) | 54.2[5] high · 17 |
| HDI (2018) |  0.518[6]low · 164th |
| Currency | Lesotho loti (LSL), South African rand (ZAR) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (South African Standard Time) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +266 |
| ISO 3166 code | LS |
| Internet TLD | .ls |
Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected. | |
Lesotho
Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is an enclaved country within the border of South Africa. Along with the Vatican City and San Marino, it is one of only three independent states completely surrounded by the territory of another country, and the only one outside the Italian peninsula that is not a microstate. Lesotho is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) and has a population of around 2 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The official language is Sesotho.