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According to localcollegeexplorer, Lesotho is a small, landlocked country located in southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and east, and by the mountain kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) to the west. Lesotho was formerly known as Basutoland, and it gained its independence from Britain in 1966. The history of Lesotho dates back to the Middle Ages when it was inhabited by San hunter-gatherers. It was later colonized by the Bantu-speaking peoples of Southern Africa, who established chiefdoms and kingdoms across the region. In 1822, Moshoeshoe I united these disparate groups into one nation: Basutoland. Following his death in 1870, Basutoland fell into a period of civil war until 1884 when it became a British protectorate. During this time, much of the traditional political structure was abolished and replaced with a system of indirect rule imposed by British administrators. In 1966, Basutoland achieved independence from Britain and changed its name to Lesotho. The first Prime Minister was Chief Leabua Jonathan who declared himself President after leading a military coup in 1986 which overthrew his government and suspended the constitution for 16 years until 2002 when democratic elections were held for the first time since 1970. Since then, Lesotho has experienced political stability and economic growth under successive governments led by both Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili (1998-2012) and current Prime Minister Thomas Thabane (2017-Present). Lesotho, a small, landlocked country located in South Africa, was an important member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2010. With a population of approximately 2 million people, Lesotho was a predominantly rural nation with much of its population living in small villages and subsistence farming being the primary form of employment. Most of the population practiced Christianity with around 80% being members of the Anglican Church. The official language was Sesotho while English was also widely spoken. Politically, Lesotho was a constitutional monarchy at this time period with King Letsie III as the head of state and Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili serving as head of government from 1998-2012. The government structure included two legislative houses – an upper house known as the Senate and a lower house known as the National Assembly – and a judicial system made up of both common law and customary law courts. In terms of economy, Lesotho’s main industries included textiles, food processing, construction materials and diamond mining with services such as banking also playing an important role in economic growth. Agriculture made up around 45% of GDP but employed more than 75% of the population due to its focus on subsistence farming practices. In terms of education, primary school enrollment rates were high by 2010 but secondary school enrollment rates were much lower due to financial constraints that prevented many adolescents from continuing their studies beyond primary school level. Additionally, only 13% students went on to pursue tertiary level education due to limited resources available for higher education institutions at this time period. Overall, Lesotho in 2010 had made some progress since its independence from Britain but faced many challenges such as high levels of poverty and unemployment especially among rural populations that were not able to benefit from urban economic growth opportunities or access quality education resources due to limited financial resources available at this time period. Additionally, political instability caused by tensions between different ethnic groups caused further instability that hindered economic development and overall progress within the country during this time period. Check ethnicityology for Lesotho in 2018.

Lesotho Guide

Lesotho Guide

Lesotho – country information Country name Lesotho Official name Kingdom of Lesotho Capital Masseur Continent Africa Area 30,355 km2 Population 2,074,000 (2013) Foundation of a state 4/10/1966 The highest mountains Thabana Ntlenyana 3482 m Longest rivers Orange (250 km in the country) State system monarchy with military rule The biggest cities Maseru (capital) 170,000 Official language Sotho, English Ethnicity/National Composition Soths 99.7%, others 0.3% Religious affiliation Roman Catholic 44%, Protestant 42%, Other Christian 8%, Traditional African Faith 6% Currency 1…

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