The Philippine Online Chronicles

The tiny nation of Lesotho is almost like no other country in the world in the sense that it is completely surrounded by another country! The only other sovereign state that has this distinction is the tiniest country in the world – The Vatican. Lesotho is a mountainous country that is nestled in the interior of South Africa and is completely landlocked.

The name “Lesotho” translates to “the land of the people who speak Sesotho”. Sesotho is the national language of the country and is spoken by just about everyone who lives there.

How tiny is tiny?

The entire country of Lesotho measures 30 355 square kilometers making it one of the smallest countries in the entire continent of Africa. Compared to the Philippines, the whole country is just a tenth of our total land area! It is not even as big as half of the island of Mindanao. It’s really considerably small.

The population is also quite small. There are a little under 2.1 million people living in Lesotho as of the last government census making it also one of the least densely populated countries in the world. The rugged terrain definitely has something to do with the amount of people living in the area. For every square kilometer in Lesotho, there are only around 68 inhabitants. Compared to the Philippines, Lesotho’s living conditions is pretty replete with personal space – the national population density average of the Philippines is over 300 per square kilometer.

The population hardly grows in Lesotho. The population growth rate per year has been measured at a meager 0.116 percent. The majority of the people are in between the ages of 15 to 64.

The air up there

The country of Lesotho is the only nation in the world that is entirely above 1400 meters above sea level. Over 80 percent of the country is above 1800 meters making the terrain more mountainous than any other country in the world. For all you trivia geeks, Lesotho’s lowest point is the highest lowest point of any country in the world!

As one would expect, the higher elevation makes the climate in Lesotho a lot cooler compared to the other areas that are at the same latitude. While summers could be wet due to the rains and thunderstorms with average temperatures reaching a sweltering 30 degrees Celsius, winters can be very harsh and cold. The entire country plunges to sub-zero temperatures during the winter with the highlands having lows of up to 18 degrees Celsius below zero. Snow falls in the country between May to September while the really high mountains in the area can experience snowfall all year round.

The flag

The flag of Lesotho is a horizontal tri-color flag comprised of blue, white and green stripes. This banner was adopted in October 4, 2006 to celebrate their 40^th year of independence from the rule of the United Kingdom. The initial flag from the 1800s featured the war garbs of the old Lesotho tribes and it was changed to the more laid back design to reflect a more peaceful nation. Instead of weapons being prominently featured, a black mokorotlo or traditional hat is at the center of the design.

The capital: Maseru

The city of Maseru located to the western side of the country is the only significantly large settlement in the country that could somehow translate as a city outside of Lesotho. It has over 220 000 thousand people making it the home of over a tenth of the entire country’s population. It has the look of a modern city but it lacks the skyscrapers and other usual landmarks in other cities in more progressive nations. It is the sister city of the capital of the state of Texas – Austin.

History

The history Lesotho is similar to the history for seemingly most of the African nations. The entire continent was overrun by European conquerors in the 1800s that were out to claim the riches and raw materials that the “dark continent” was supposed to be harbouring. In Lesotho’s case the foreign oppressors are from Britain. The country will not gain independence until 1966 when the United Kingdom finally allowed Lesotho to claim its sovereignty and freedom as a new nation in the south of Africa.

Just like other nations in the continent, the politics of Lesotho has been tumultuous due to the presence of military adventurism and other forces that have tried to wrest power away from the duly elected government.

Lesotho is one of the many nations who are under the British Commonwealth.

Economy

Just like in neighboring South Africa, Lesotho has a vast reserve of diamonds that are exported to different parts of the world. Due to the high elevation and glaciers in Lesotho, the country is also able to export fresh water to the lowlands of South Africa. The country is also quite invested in the garments industry and is an exporter of wool, mohair and other raw materials for fabrics. Denim pants giant Levi’s has a manufacturing facility in this small country.

Despite the great abundance of natural wealth in the country, a good chunk of the population live below the widely accepted international poverty line of less than 1.25 USD per day. It is believed that around 40 percent of the population lie below this threshold. The gross domestic product of the nation was around 1.602 billion USD. This puts the national per capita at just 642 USD per person for an entire year!

The official currency of Lesotho is the loti which has a pegged 1:1 against the currency of neighboring South Africa – the rand. The exchange rate to the US dollar is around 7.1 to 7.7 loti to one US dollar.

Despite poor economy and having almost half the population below the poverty line, the educational system in Lesotho is pretty good relative to the other African countries. The literacy rate of over 85 percent is one of the highest in all of Africa. Despite this high level of literacy however, only 3.4 percent of the people in Lesotho have access to the internet and certain government services such as healthcare is really hard to come by for the citizens of the country.

The nation also has a problem with trying to eradicate all forms of child labor. A lot of steps have been taken by the government and the UNICEF to safeguard the rights of children but unfortunately, there are still over 30 percent of the youth population is still part of the work force. Each child is working around 20 hours per week.

Health

There are serious health concerns in Lesotho. The country has among the highest incidences of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent studies, it was found that almost 1 out of every 4 people living in Lesotho has been infected by HIV – the official number is around 23.2 percent. A 2003 estimate actually pegs it a lot higher at over 28 percent – this is the highest number in the world as far as HIV prevalence rates are concerned.

The government along with some well-meaning non-governmental organizations have helped in trying to curb this number by educating people about the hazards of unprotected sex. Anti-retrovirals have also been given to those who have tested positive for HIV.

The prevalence of HIV/ AIDS has lowered the life expectancy to really alarming levels. A man that is born in Lesotho is only expected to live up to 41 years of age while a woman is expected to live even shorter at 39 years of age. In city centers like Maseru, the HIV infection rate among women tops 50 percent.

Infant mortality in Lesotho is considerably high at 8.3 percent and there is a dearth of medical practitioners. There are only five doctors to every 100 000 people in the nation. In comparison, there is one doctor in the United States for every 390 people. In the Philippines, there is one doctor for every 1800 people. Lesotho’s figure of one doctor per 20 000 patients is among the highest in the world.

Ethnicity

Majority of the people who live in Lesotho identify themselves as Basotho a ethnic group that speaks the Bantu language. Over 97 percent of the people in Lesotho fall under this classification. There is a minority population of Europeans and quite surprisingly, Chinese immigrants.

Lesotho is 90 percent Christian. There is an abundance of many different denominations of the Christian faith in the country including Roman Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Latter Day Saints, Adventists among others. There is also a handful of followers of Baha’i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and traditional tribal religions.

Sesotho is the country’s official language and is spoken by just about everyone. English is also one of Lesotho’s official languages.

Travel to Lesotho

Due to the country’s size and location, travelling to Lesotho will be tough especially if you’re trying to fly in from the Philippines. Flights that originate from Manila that end up in Africa can be pretty hard to come by and most travellers would have to go through a nearby hub like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates or even a major European city like Frankfurt, Paris or London.

A test booking on Cheapo Air actually pegged a round trip flight to Maseru, Lesotho at about 3500 USD. The flight would have to connect via Singapore and then to Johannesburg in South Africa before taking a short 55 minute flight to the lone airport of Lesotho at Maseru.

Filipinos would have to get a travel visa to Lesotho before being allowed in. As one would expect, there is no embassy or consulate of Lesotho in the Philippines. There are multiple consulates in South Africa but the closest consular offices to the Philippines are the ones in Bangkok, Thailand and in Singapore.

What to see

Just like any other locale with majestic peaks, great plateaus and breath taking cliffs, the landscape of Lesotho is a sight to behold. There are multiple trails up to the summit of mountains or to view points that would allow one to see a great expanse of Lesotho or South Africa.

One of the more famous sites in Lesotho is the town of Semonkong that features a very tall waterfall (called Maletsunyane) that has a sheer drop of over 200 meters. The falls emerges from a very high gorge that has been carved by the water. The base of the waterfall is so cold and shaded from the sun that snow has been known to form there all year round. For the real thrill seekers, you can even rappel or absail down the face of the cliff that holds the waterfall. According to Guinness Book of World Records, this site has the highest commercially accessible absailing point in the entire world.

The Katse Dam is also one of the must-see sites in Lesotho. The dam is the second largest dam in Africa and is part of the Lesotho Highlands Project – a joint effort between the countries of South Africa and Lesotho. Through the project, the people of Lesotho get to earn money by selling water to the Gauteng province of South Africa as well as generate electricity for their own use. The dam itself is over 2300 feet in length and a staggering 607 feet in height.

The town of Morija is also a favoured destination for the adventure seekers. Aside from pony trekking, hiking and rock climbing which activities that one could do while anywhere in Lesotho, Morija offers a well-preserved patch of land that has real dinosaur footprints. The foot prints are over hundreds of millions of years old and were preserved in the climate of Lesotho thanks to the chance events of fossilization and minimal weathering during that vast time period. There are many other sites that has dinosaur foot prints but Morija is one of the more accessible locales.

The north western side of Lesotho is home to the well known area of Oxbow – one of the few places in Africa were skiing is possible. On the way to this town, one can also travel to the Liphofung village to see the rock art that was created by prehistoric man during the Stone Age.

Photo: “Cabañas en el Reino de Lesotho” by Santi Martin, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

Photo: Flag of Lesotho from Wikipedia Commons

Photo: “IMG_7749” by , c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

Photo: “Maseru, 0630” by Paul, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved