Lesotho - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Lesotho. Landlocked, an enclave of (completely surrounded by) South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 m above sea level. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.9 years (2014 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 566 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Lesotho
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Natural Resources water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Natural Hazards periodic droughts
Irrigated Land 12 sq km (2013)
Major rivers (by length in km) Orange river source (shared with South Africa and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 1,106 km
Border Countries South Africa 1,106 km
Coastline 0 km (landlocked)
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Area
Total Area
Land Area 30,355 sq km
Water Area 0 sq km
comparative Area slightly smaller than Maryland
Maritime Claims
Elevations
Highest point Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Lowest point junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
Mean elevation 2,161 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 76.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 65.9% (2018 est.)
Forest 1.5% (2018 est.)
Other 22.4% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Relatively higher population density in the western half of the nation, with the capital of Maseru, and the smaller cities of Mafeteng, Teyateyaneng, and Leribe attracting the most people as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In Lesotho, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Sotho 99.7%, other 0.3% (includes Kwena, Nguni (Hlubi and Phuthi), Zulu)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.76% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 22.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 10.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 11.8% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 2.85 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.4 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 64.9% (2018)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 53.7% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 8.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
Net Migration rate -4.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Basotho | Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
Languages Sesotho (official), English (official), Phuthi, Xhosa, Zulu
Religions Protestant 47.8% (Pentecostal 23.1%, Lesotho Evangelical 17.3%, Anglican 7.4%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, other Christian 9.1%, non-Christian 1.4%, none 2.3% (2014 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 32% (male 358,137/female 353,618)
15-64 years 62.7% (male 699,197/female 696,626)
65 years and over 5.4% (2024 est.) (male 44,625/female 75,345)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 62.1
Youth dependency ratio 55.3
Elderly dependency ratio 6.8
Potential support ratio 14.7 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 23.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 23.4 years
Female 24.3 years
Urbanization
Urban population 30.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 202,000 MASERU (capital) (2018).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.59 male(s)/female
Total population 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 45.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 51 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 40.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 60.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 58.1 years
Female 62.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 95.7% of population
Improved: rural rural: 77.2% of population
Improved: total total: 82.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 4.3% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 22.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 17.4% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 93.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 62.4% of population
Improved: total total: 71.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 6.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 37.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 28.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk intermediate (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 3.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 1.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 24.3% (2020 est.)
Male 43.1% (2020 est.)
Female 5.4% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 1%
Women married by age 18 16.4%
Men married by age 18 1.9% (2018 est.)
Demographic profile

Lesotho faces great socioeconomic challenges. 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. Lesotho’s persistently high infant, child, and maternal mortality rates have been increasing during the last decade, according to the last two Demographic and Health Surveys. Despite these significant shortcomings, Lesotho has made good progress in education; it is on-track to achieve universal primary education and has one of the highest adult literacy rates in Africa.

Lesotho’s migration history is linked to its unique geography; it is surrounded by South Africa with which it shares linguistic and cultural traits. Lesotho at one time had more of its workforce employed outside its borders than any other country. Today remittances equal about 20% of its GDP. With few job options at home, a high rate of poverty, and higher wages available across the border, labor migration to South Africa replaced agriculture as the prevailing Basotho source of income decades ago. The majority of Basotho migrants were single men contracted to work as gold miners in South Africa. However, migration trends changed in the 1990s, and fewer men found mining jobs in South Africa because of declining gold prices, stricter immigration policies, and a preference for South African workers.

Although men still dominate cross-border labor migration, more women are working in South Africa, mostly as domestics, because they are widows or their husbands are unemployed. Internal rural-urban flows have also become more frequent, with more women migrating within the country to take up jobs in the garment industry or moving to care for loved ones with HIV/AIDS. Lesotho’s small population of immigrants is increasingly composed of Taiwanese and Chinese migrants who are involved in the textile industry and small retail businesses.

All Important Facts about Lesotho

Want to know more about Lesotho? Check all different factbooks for Lesotho below.

Lesotho is found in Southern Africa