| |||||||
Anthem | "Lesotho Fatše La Bontata Rona" | ||||||
Capital | Maseru | ||||||
Largest city | Maseru | ||||||
Language | Sesotho and English | ||||||
Ethnic Group | 99.7% Basotho 0.3% other Africans | ||||||
Demonym | Mosotho (singular) Basotho (plural) | ||||||
Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | ||||||
Monarch | Letsie III | ||||||
Prime Minister | Tom Thabane | ||||||
Area main |
30,355 km² | ||||||
water (%) | 0.0032 | ||||||
Population | 2,203,821 | ||||||
Independence | from United Kingdom | ||||||
declared | 4 October 1966 | ||||||
recognized | 4 October 1966 | ||||||
Currency | Lesotho loti | ||||||
Driving Side | left | ||||||
Calling Code | +266 | ||||||
Internet TLD | .ls |
Lesotho officially the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: Muso oa Lesotho), is an enclaved country in southern Africa, completely surrounded by South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around two million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. It is the only nation in Southern Africa with a Bantu majority, with the largest group being the Basotho people. The reasoning for this is that Lesotho served as a "reservation for the Bantus", similar to the Indian Reservations of North America.