2,131,000 (1997).

70.2 per sq km.

Maseru.

170,000 (1990).

Lesotho is a landlocked country surrounded on all sides by South Africa. It is a mountainous kingdom situated at the highest part of the Drakensberg escarpment on the eastern rim of the South African plateau. Its mountainous terrain is cut by countless valleys and ravines, making it a country of great beauty. To the west the land descends through a foothill zone of rolling hills to a lowland belt along the border where two-thirds of the population live. Three large rivers, the Orange, the Caledon and the Tugela, rise in the mountains.

Kingdom. Gained independence from the UK in 1966. Head of State: King Letsie III since 1996. Head of Government: Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili since 1998.

Sesotho and English.

Christian; mainly Anglican, Catholic and Lesotho Evangelical. The remainder belong to other denominations.

GMT + 2

220 volts AC, 50Hz