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World > Africa > Lesotho
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Lesotho |
Introduction:
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Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.
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| Official name: |
Kingdom of Lesotho |
| Capital: |
name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Government type: |
parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Population: |
2,125,262
note: 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 (July 2007 est.) |
| Languages: |
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Official Currency: |
Lesotho Loti (LSL) |
| Currency code: |
LSL |
| Area: |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Climate: |
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
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Map of Lesotho
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