Lesotho is one of the world’s least developed countries in terms of economic development. In 1997, the Gross National Product (GNP) was Maloti 4,740 million, or almost US$ 790 per capita. In real terms, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 5.5 percent to US$ 747 in 1998. The nominal GDP, on the other hand, grew little over 1997 levels, suggesting a domestic inflation rate of over 9%. The average nominal income per person was M 3,133 (US$ 570), somewhat lower than the level in 1997. (Central Bank of Lesotho Annual Report 1999).
Manufacturing exports expanded at an annual rate of nearly 18 percent in 1996/97, but fell to 6 percent in 1997/98 and 2 percent in 1998/99. The sub-contribution sector’s to the Gross Domestic Product, on the other hand, increased from 14 percent in 1993/94 to an average of 17 percent every year from 1994/95 to 1997/98. This was partly due to the actions of the LHWP exports in 1998, which fell by 7.6% in volume after showing continuous rise in previous years.
Customs revenue continues to be disproportionately important to the country’s revenue base. Customs collections (including grants) have accounted for 54 percent of overall government revenue and 78 percent of recurrent expenditures over the last 10 years. The outcome of the SACU Agreement negotiations, the European Union (EU) / South African Free Trade Agreement, the negotiations of a Post-Lorne relationship with the EU, the ratification and implementation of the SADC Trade Protocol, and the anticipated next round of World Trade Organisation negotiations are all likely to have a significant impact on the country’s economic dependence on customs revenue.
External influences have a significant impact on Lesotho’s economy. In general, global economic trends have an impact on the country’s overall economic performance. For example, a drop in global output from 4.2 percent in 1997 to 2.2 percent in 1998 has resulted in a drop in global commerce volume from 9.9 percent in 1997 to 3.3 percent in 1998. Lesotho’s economy is influenced by the South African economy in particular. The majority of the foreign money comes from Basotho working in RSA’s mines. Migrant mining workers’ employment, on the other hand, has been dropping in recent years. According to current numbers from The Employment Bureau of Africa (TEBA) offices, the total number of contracts extended in the first months of 1999 was 22,8867, down from 27,693 in the same period last year. It’s due to a variety of causes, including:
Lesotho migrant workers can apply for permanent residency in South Africa at their own discretion.
High mine pay have attracted a higher number of black South Africans than previously.
Internal trends and limits also have an impact on Lesotho’s economy. The closure of the Lesotho Agricultural Development Bank and the restructure of the Lesotho Bank, for example, have been considered to have had a substantial impact on local economic production. Reduced agricultural productivity, poor performance in public sector utilities, and political instability have all had an impact on economic growth, as has the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWPdeclining )’s activity.
Agriculture’s relative contribution to GDP has decreased from 45 percent at independence to just 10 percent in 1992. Even when the impact of drought is taken into account, it is clear that the sector’s contribution to GDP is declining.
Arable agriculture, which accounts for around 28% of agricultural GDP, is primarily a low-input, low-output sector based on cereal monocropping for subsistence. Maize (the chosen staple), sorghum, and wheat are the most important crops. Following a brief period of surplus at the turn of the century, when Lesotho was a net grain exporter, productivity has steadily dropped, peaking in the mid-1970s. Since independence, yields have declined and output growth has lagged well behind the reliance ratio, which has risen from 32 in 1965 to 52 in 1990. (UNDP 1994). The outlook is dismal; forecasts (Sechaba, 1994) show that if current trends in population and agricultural productivity continue, Lesotho’s ability to feed itself will continue to deteriorate.
Livestock produces nearly all agricultural exports, mostly wool and mohair, accounting for 78 percent of agricultural GDP. Over the last thirty years, its contribution to arable agriculture has risen substantially. However, because of the increasingly lopsided pattern of livestock ownership, the benefits of this activity are concentrated among a small number of Basotho.
Lesotho is a low-income country for a reason.
Lesotho is a small mountainous country completely surrounded by South Africa. Lesotho has been plagued by political instability and slow economic development since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. Lesotho’s efforts to eradicate poverty are further complicated by the high prevalence of HIV. Despite an attempted military coup in 2014, the country’s situation has improved in recent years. The following are seven factors that influence poverty in Lesotho.
Factors Affecting Poverty in Lesotho
- Agricultural: Sixty-six percent of Lesotho’s population lives in rural areas, where small-scale agriculture is the main source of income. Many of these individuals practice subsistence agriculture, which means they rely on a healthy yield to sustain their family. Each harvest has a major impact on the lives of millions of people in Lesotho. A drought in 2015 and 2016 paralyzed poverty reduction initiatives over the next few years, demonstrating the system’s fragility.
- Gender: Women-headed households had a poverty rate of 55.2 percent, compared to 46.3 percent for men-headed households. This is due to the fact that in Lesotho’s patriarchal society, women are often denied the same opportunities as men.
- Poverty in Lesotho is more widespread in rural areas than in urban areas due to urbanization. Urban areas have a poverty rate of 28.5 percent, while rural areas have a poverty rate of 60.7 percent. Despite Lesotho’s recent economic growth, the majority of advances have been concentrated in urban regions, leaving rural communities behind.
- Degree: In Lesotho, obtaining a college education is extremely unusual; just 4.4 percent of the population lives in households where someone has attended a college or university. Those who do get a higher education have a poverty rate of only 8.7%.
- Government programs: For the past 20 years, Lesotho’s government has collaborated with international groups to strengthen poor people’s protections and boost economic opportunities. As a result, from 2002 to 2017, the national poverty rate fell from 56.6 percent to 49.7 percent.
- In Lesotho, poverty and HIV are inextricably linked. Almost one-quarter of all adults with HIV, and treatment is critical to halting the spread of the disease and allowing these people to live normal lives. Due to a lack of resources and awareness, only 57 percent of people living with HIV are currently receiving treatment. This has a direct effect on their quality of life and makes it more difficult for them to rise beyond the poverty line.
- NGOs: While the government of Lesotho is focused on addressing poverty, NGOs are filling up the gaps. In the country, many foreign nonprofit organizations such as Caritas Lesotho operate. Caritas Lesotho is a non-profit organization that teaches people technical skills to assist them transcend poverty. They target at-risk youth and teach them a skill like farming or woodworking. Caritas Lesotho, for example, is gently but steadily improving the country’s economic status.
Examining the origins of poverty in a country is critical to determining the most effective way to address the problem. Poverty will undoubtedly continue to be a problem in Lesotho for many years. However, the country is on the right route, and as education and economic opportunities grow, the country will develop.
How does Eswatini generate revenue?
Eswatini’s economy is fairly well-diversified. Agriculture, forestry, and mining contribute for around 13% of Eswatini’s GDP, while manufacturing (textiles and sugar-related processing) accounts for 37%. The remaining half of GDP is made up of services, with government services taking the lead.
Why is Lesotho significant to South Africa?
Mountains cover two-thirds of Lesotho. Mount Ntlenyana, the highest point in the area, rises 3,482 meters above sea level. The Drakensberg mountain separates South Africa from KwaZulu-Natal on the east. The Drakensberg’s Maloti spurs, which run north and south, join the main range in the north, forming a plateau with elevations ranging from 2,700 to 3,200 meters. The source of South Africa’s two main rivers, the eastward-flowing Tugela and the westward-flowing Orange, as well as tributaries of the Caledon, is this plateau, which is the heart of the cattle-raising and agricultural industries (Mohokare). The Senqunyane in the center of the country, the Kometspruit in the southwest, and the Matsoku in the northeast are three more notable rivers in Lesotho. With elevations ranging from 1,800 to 2,100 meters, the Foothills fall in undulating slopes to the west, where the lowlands bordering Free State rise to 1,500 to 1,800 meters. The Basaltic soils of the mountains are shallow but fertile. The underlying Sandstone is the principal source of soil in the Lowlands. Soils around the country have been seriously degraded by extensive erosion.
Lesotho has a population of 2 160 349 million people (21/07/2021), the majority of them live in poverty!
In the seventeenth century, various Sotho communities appeared in the Basutoland and Free State territories. Against the Zulu invaders, King Moshoeshoe I unified the Sotho tribes.
The territory of Basutoland played a significant part in Southern Africa’s colonial history during the nineteenth century. In 1833, three French missionaries, Thomas Abousset, Eugene Casalis, and Constant Gosselin, paid a visit to Moshoeshoe, monarch of the newly founded baSotho nation, and secured permission to build a mission station at Morija. A study expedition led by Dr Andrew Smith followed them in October 1834.
Following the first missionary trips, migrant Dutch farmers penetrated the nation, some of whom were granted land for settlement under baSotho customary law. Despite signing a “treaty of goodwill” with the baSotho in 1837, the territory was invaded by gangs of Voortrekkers in 1836, who formed a separate republic on their lands in 1843.
Despite the British intervention at the Cape, a succession of inconclusive territorial conflicts between the baSotho and the Dutch eventually undermined baSotho land holdings in what was to become the Orange Free State. Despite defeating the Voortrekkers and retaining his independence, Moshoeshoe saw that the future of baSotho sovereignty lay in a tight relationship with the British. As a result, in 1862, he wrote to Sir Philip Wodehouse, the newly-appointed Governor of the Cape, proposing that the two provinces establish an alliance. In response to persistent Voortrekker assault, Wodehouse issued a proclamation designating Bautoland a British Protectorate on March 12, 1868. On April 15, 1868, the baSotho formally recognized this. Basutoland was absorbed into the Cape Colony in 1871.
Large swaths of land in the Ficksburg, Fouriesburg, Landybrand, Thaba ‘Nchu, Wepener, and Zastron regions were ceded to the Orange Free State during boundary discussions with the Voortrekkers in February 1869. The first British administrators arrived in Basutoland within a year, and despite the fact that many of its administrative tasks were merged with those of the Cape, it kept its autonomy as a High Commission Territory. The region was initially divided into four districts for administrative purposes:
* Thlotse Heights, the magisterial seat of Leribe, was later renamed Leribe. It had 12 commercial stations and three missions in 1882.
* Berea, whose magisterial seat was formerly at Advance Post. This was handed to Berea in 1886, and Teyateyaneng was renamed in 1888.
In 1877, a new district called as Quthing was established. Maseru was home to the Governor’s Agent. In 1875, the following census numbers for Basutoland were available:
Basutoland was renamed Territory of Basutoland after becoming a British Colony in 1959. On October 4, 1966, Basutoland obtained full independence from Britain and became known as Lesotho. Jonathan Leabua was the first Prime Minister of the country. A military coup d’tat rocked Lesotho, forcing King Moshoeshoe II into exile. After 23 years of authoritarian administration, including seven years under military rule, constitutional government was restored in 1993. Lesotho is South Africa’s principal water provider, and it gets its electricity from its neighbor. South Africa entirely encircles the island.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lt.html – the CIA’s Lesotho factbook
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/leso.html -links to a number of Lesotho websites
For audio excerpts, brief facts, and a Lesotho timeline, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country profiles/1063291.stm.
What makes Lesotho distinct from South Africa?
South Africa entirely encircles the country of Lesotho. In 1871, Lesotho (then Basutoland, a British protectorate) was annexed to the Cape Colony, but in 1884, it became independent (as a crown colony). The United Kingdom attempted to include Lesotho when the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The Kingdom did, however, acquire full independence in October 1966. Despite official independence, South Africa’s white-controlled government took a significant involvement in its neighbor’s economic and political affairs, including assisting Lesotho Prime Minister Chief Leabua Jonathan’s government. South Africa backed the coup in Lesotho that brought Justin Lekhanya to office in 1986. As a result, the administration of Lekhanya expelled members of the African National Congress as well as technicians from North Korea, resulting in greatly improved relations between the two countries.
Is there a President in Lesotho?
The government of Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy. Moeketsi Majoro, the Prime Minister, is the head of government and has executive authority. The King’s role is mostly ceremonial; he no longer has governmental authority and is prohibited from participating actively in political efforts. The monarch is hereditary, but under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a “living symbol of national unity” with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law, the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the throne; the monarch is hereditary, but under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a “living symbol of
What percentage of the population of Lesotho lives in poverty?
Lesotho’s poverty rate fell from 56.6 percent to 49.7 percent between 2002 and 2017, according to the Lesotho Poverty Assessment: Progress and Challenges in Reducing Poverty. This was due to a reduction in inequality as a result of the country’s social protection programs being expanded and an increase in wage incomes among the poor. However, poverty and economic vulnerability remain widespread, with more than 75% of the population being poor or vulnerable to poverty.
“We appreciate this study because it provides us with the essential knowledge to inform policies that will better the lives of Basotho,” stated Lesotho Minister of Development Planning Hon. Tlohelang Aumane. “In Lesotho, poverty and inequality have decreased, but much more can be done to enhance access to essential public services, particularly in rural regions, where the majority of the poor live.”
Poverty declined by 13 percentage points in urban areas, from 41.5 percent to 28.5 percent, while it decreased slightly in rural regions, from 61.3 percent to 60.7 percent. Poverty in the Rural Highlands grew by 10.9 percentage points to 67.8 percent in 2017, up from 56.9 percent in 2002. It also increased in the Senqu River Valley, which is rural.
According to this analysis, between 2002 and 2017, metropolitan areas witnessed more poverty reduction as a result of improved education and higher salaries from well-paying jobs, primarily in the services sector. Due to modest increase in agricultural revenues, a drop in remittances, which serve as a buffer when weather shocks occur, and the rural population’s vulnerability to such shocks, poverty in rural regions remained stable during the same period.
Poverty is still concentrated in rural areas, where four out of every five poor people reside. According to the 2016 census, 66 percent of Lesotho’s two million people reside in rural areas, where agriculture is the primary source of income. Climate change and environmental shocks are two major challenges in the agriculture business. According to a simulation conducted in this study, if Lesotho had not experienced historically low rainfall in 2015-2016, the rate of national poverty reduction would have nearly doubled.
The report also demonstrates that, despite the widening urban-rural poverty gap, inequality in Lesotho has decreased as a result of the expansion of the country’s social security programs and an increase in poor people’s wage incomes. Lesotho is now more equal than its neighbors, although it remains one of the world’s 20 percent most unequal countries, with a Gini coefficient* of 44.6.
- strengthening the poor’s human capital by expanding primary school learning, increasing secondary enrolment and competition among the poor, and improving the efficiency of education spending
- strengthening the business environment, easing access to finance, and facilitating labor mobility, and argues that tailored policies that foster entrepreneurship and skills are critical to solving high unemployment.
- To enhance resilience and limit susceptibility to shocks, Lesotho needs to improve the harmonization and synchronization of its already vast social protection programs, as well as strengthen inter-agency coordination and improve program implementation.
- In the lowlands and foothills, shifting from subsistence to commercial agriculture, increasing the use of productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs, and developing farmer-buyer relationships, as well as establishing a resilient environment in the highlands
According to the paper, building shock resilience can be accomplished through providing responsive social support and limiting exposure to shocks. Land management methods, forest and woodland protection, irrigation, and enhanced water resource management are all key sustainable risk mitigation initiatives.
*The Gini coefficient is a commonly used indicator of inequality. It has a value of 0 if all resources are distributed equally, and a value of 100 if all resources are owned by one individual.
What percentage of the population of Lesotho is poor?
“More than 75% of Lesotho’s population is poor or vulnerable, indicating that the country’s poverty trajectory must be changed,” stated Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for Lesotho.
What is Lesotho’s claim to fame?
Lesotho is famous for its stunning beauty, which includes snow-capped mountain ranges in the winter. The Maloti Mountains’ Sehlabathebe National Park, in the country’s centre, is home to a diverse range of plants, animals, and birds. You might see the rare bearded vulture if you’re lucky. Another must-see is Katse Dam, which has Africa’s highest dam wall and offers unbroken views of the environment. Tours can be booked by calling +266 229 10805, which is located on the Malibamatso River.