About Lesotho
The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho is a small landlocked independent country completely surrounded by South Africa. The population is only about two million people. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture with many families raising cows and sheep and planting small plots of corn to sustain themselves, though drought and overuse of the land has made survival more difficult. Many Basotho migrate to South Africa to work in the mines and send remittances to their families in Lesotho.
Lesotho has the third highest adult HIV infection rate in the world at 23.2%. The epidemic is being addressed to some degree on many levels but poverty, inadequate medical facilities and a delayed response overall has resulted in the life expectancy decreasing to only 42 years and an estimated 150,000 orphaned children. The
Basotho highly value education and even most orphans attend primary school. Primary school is free and has generally been made accessible in even the most remote areas. However, middle school and high school are prohibitively expensive. A small portion of primary school graduates continue onto secondary school. It is the goal of the Lesotho Education Fund addresses this particular problem in Lesotho by enabling more poor students to attend secondary school.
Links with Additional Information about Lesotho
World Bank – Lesotho information
United Nations - Lesotho - UNGASS Country Progress Report -PDF
World Health Organization – Health information about Lesotho