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Lesotho
Kingdom of Lesotho
Political Status: Traditional monarchy, independent within the Commonwealth since October 4, 1966.
Area: 11,720 sq. mi. (30,355 sq. km.).
Population: 1,862,275 (1996C); 2,378,000 (2004E), excluding expatriate workers in South Africa (approximately 150,000 in 1999).
Major Urban Center (1999E): MASERU (373,000, including suburbs).
Official Languages: English, Sesotho.
Monetary Unit. Loti (principal rate July 1, 2005: 6.70 maloti = $1US). The loti is at par with the South African rand, although under a Tripartite Monetary Area agreement concluded between Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa on July 1, 1986, the rand has ceased to be legal tender in Lesotho.
Sovereign: King LETSIE III; became king upon the dethronement of his father, King MOSHOESHOE II on November 6, 1990; voluntarily abdicated upon his father's return to the throne on January 25, 1995; became ...