HowStuffWorks "Maps of Lesotho"

maps of lesotho

Country (long form)	Kingdom of Lesotho
Capital	Maseru
Total Area	11,720.13 sq mi 30,355.00 sq km (slightly smaller than Maryland)
Population	2,177,062 (July 2001 est.) 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
Estimated Population in 2050	2,849,325
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Literacy	83% total, 72% male, 93% female (1999 est.)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Life Expectancy	47.97 male, 49.74 female (2001 est.)
Government Type	parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Currency	1 loti (L) = 100 lisente
GDP (per capita)	$2,400 (2000 est.)
Industry	food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Agriculture	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Arable Land	11%
Natural Resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals

Lesotho, or Kingdom of Lesotho, an independent country in southern Africa, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.

Discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias opened the way for Portugal's trade with the East Indies.