Framework for US assistance in Southern Africa : country resource paper -- Lesotho

This report is a profile of Lesotho and includes a general background discussion of the physical features, culture, education, politics, and major issues confronting the government of Lesotho. The economic overview includes the gross domestic product, balance of payments, government economic plan, development problems, development prospects and alternatives. The sector analyses include agriculture, mining, transportation, water resources, health, education, population, manufacturing, and tourism. Lesotho is made up of people from one ethnic group, the Basotho people. It is an impoverished nation considered to be among the twenty-five poorest. The land is inhospitable and the majority of the population lives in the lowland areas in densely populated settlements. Many seek work in the South African mines; the remaining population subsists on agriculture and food relief. The income remittances from migrant labor equalled the value of the output of the domestic economy in 1975. The agricultural resource base is limited and deteriorating. Only thirteen percent of the land area is capable of supporting crop cultivation and it is racked by severe erosion. Lesotho does not have natural resources to provide the capital required to develop the other employment-generating sectors of the economy. Lesotho is dependent on the South African economy for its survival.