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: 2,062,000 (2020E—World Bank); 1,969,334 (2020E—U.S. Census).

Major Urban Center (2017E—UN): MASERU (330,700).

Official Languages: English, Sesotho.

Monetary Unit: Loti (official rate September 30, 2020: 16.85 maloti = $1US). The loti is at par with the South African rand, although under a Tripartite Monetary Area agreement concluded between Lesotho, Swaziland (now Eswatini), 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 king again on February 7, 1996, following the ...