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Mar 9, 2024 · Completely encircled by the Republic of South Africa but separated from it by forbidding mountain ranges, Lesotho has endured decades of turbulent politics, periodic economic crises, and grinding poverty since gaining its independence from Great Britain in 1966.
Lesotho (/ l ɪ ˈ s uː t uː / ⓘ lih-SOO-too, Sotho pronunciation: [lɪˈsʊːtʰʊ]), formally the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. As an enclave of South Africa, with which it shares a 1,106 km border, it is the only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian Peninsula.
Apr 17, 2024 · Almost half of its population lives below the poverty line as of 2017, and the country’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is the second highest in the world as of 2021. In addition, Lesotho is a small, mountainous, landlocked country with little arable land, leaving its population vulnerable to food shortages and reliant on remittances.
This discussion focuses on Lesotho since the mid-19th century. For a more-detailed treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional context, see Southern Africa. The territory now known as Lesotho was occupied as early as the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) by Khoisan-speaking hunter-gatherers.
History of Lesotho. The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho ( / ləˈsuːtuː, - ˈsoʊtoʊ / [1] [2]) goes back as many as 400 years. Present Lesotho (then called Basotholand) emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822.
The Demographics of Lesotho describe the condition and overview of Lesotho's people, residents of which are called Basotho in the plural and Mosotho in the singular. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations. Population.
Dec 16, 2021 · The government remains Lesotho's largest employer; in 2016, the government wage bill rose to 23% of GDP – the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lesotho's largest private employer is the textile and garment industry - approximately 36,000 Basotho, mainly women, work in factories producing garments for export to South Africa and the US.
