Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Lesotho (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Lesotho

REGION: Southern Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Maseru
POPULATION: 1,798,000
LAND AREA: The size of Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small, land-locked nation, surrounded on all sides by the Republic of South Africa. Although called a "kingdom," Lesotho is governed by an elected parliament and prime minister: the monarch has no executive or legislative powers. The country is predominantly highlands, with plateaus, hills and mountains. Most of the people engage in subsistence agriculture, especially livestock production. Recent droughts combined with population pressure have resulted in natural resource depletion. Those not working on the land tend to seek employment in the mines of South Africa. Overall, the people of Lesotho live in poverty and the country has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world.
           

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 42.6 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 132/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [21.9 - 24.7]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 5 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 13% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 79% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 82.2% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $3,335 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $808 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 36.4% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)