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Lesotho

LSO · Africa

Lesotho

Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of the three sovereign enclaves.

Summary from Wikipédia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

compare with…

Data refreshed on 2026.11.04 · source: Wikidata

The Institute's composite reading

Risque élevé

4.9 /10 risk

  • Security 0.0
  • Legitimacy 5.6
  • Economy 5.0
  • Diplomacy 5.0
  • Influence 0.0

Security: 0 stable → 10 unstable · others: 0 weak → 10 strong. Computed from V-Dem, FH, CPI, RSF, World Bank, SIPRI, sanctions.

Capital
Maseru
Population
2,116,427 inh.
Area
30,355 km²
Currency
LSL
Regime
constitutional monarchy

Executive in office

Head of State

Letsie III du Lesotho

since 1996.02.07

Head of Government

Sam Matekane

since 2022.10.28 Révolution pour la prospérité

Parliament

Assemblée nationale

120 seats

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  • Revolution for Prosperity RFP 57
  • Democratic Congress DC 26
  • All Basotho Convention ABC 8
  • Basotho Action Party BAP 6
  • Alliance of Democrats AD 4
  • Movement for Economic Change MEC 4
  • Lesotho Congress for Democracy LCD 3
  • Socialist Revolutionary Party SR 2
  • Basotho National Party BNP 2
  • Lesotho Peoples' Congress LPC 1
  • HOPE – Mphatlalatsane HOPE 1
  • Popular Front for Democracy PFD 1
5 more groups
  • Basotho Covenant Movement BCM 1
  • Mpulule Political Summit MPS 1
  • National Independent Party NIP 1
  • United For Change UFC 1
  • Basotho Patriotic Party BPP 1

Composition · Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · 2026.11.04

Sénat

33 seats

Economic indicators World Bank · 2025

GDP

3 G$

2025 ↑ +7.6 % vs 2024

GDP / capita

1,089 $

2025 ↑ +6.4 % vs 2024

Growth

2.0 %

2025 ↓ -3.2 pt vs 2024

Inflation

4.3 %

2025 ↓ -1.8 pt vs 2024

Unemployment

16.3 %

2025 ↓ -0.0 pt vs 2024

Debt / GDP

3.0 %

2020 ↓ -29.2 pt vs 2019

Defense / GDP

1.6 %

2025 ↑ +0.0 pt vs 2024

Life expectancy

57.8 yrs

2024 ↑ +0.7 % vs 2023

Governance indices V-Dem 2025 · Freedom House 2026 · CPI 2025 · RSF 2026

Democracy (V-Dem)

0.66/1

#60 electoral democracy 2025

Freedoms (Freedom House)

67/100

Free 2026

Corruption (CPI)

37/100

#992025

Press freedom (RSF)

54/100

#892026

Military posture SIPRI · 2025

Global spending rank

#139

SIPRI 2025

Annual budget

0.0 Md$

2025USD constants 2024

Defense effort

1.6 %PIB

2025

Trade dependencies OEC · UN Comtrade · 2023

Exports

1 Md$

Imports

3 Md$

Balance

-2 Md$

Top exports

  • Vêtements
  • Diamants

Top imports

  • Pétrole raffiné

Export partners

Import partners

Diplomatic alignment UNGA 2020-2024 · Bailey-Strezhnev-Voeten

Vote concordance with each power at UN General Assembly.

  • USA 31%
  • GBR 33%
  • FRA 36%
  • DEU 36%
  • RUS 53%
  • CHN 62%
  • IND 67%

Abstention: 25%

Society · human UNDP HDI 2023 · World Bank · WID · UNHCR 2025

HDI

0.55/1

#1672023

Refugees hosted

478

UNHCR 2025

Refugees originating

27

UNHCR 2025

National anthem

Lesōthō fatše la bo ntat'a rōna

Composer · Ferdinand Samuel Laur

Alliances and organisations Institut · Wikidata

  • UN
  • WTO
  • Commonwealth
  • African Union
  • SADC

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Global attention Wikipedia · 90 days

The country's Wikipedia article is usually read 2,252 times a day (French and English). On 2026.11.03: 2,159, or ×1.1.

French + English French usual level 2026.08.06 · 2026.11.03 Wikimedia statistics (CC0), human users

Sources and freshness

  • Executive, government, parliament, anthem · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-11-04
  • Economy · World Bank (CC BY 4.0) · 2025
  • Indices and figures · V-Dem 2026 (OWID) · Freedom House 2026 (OWID) · Transparency International CPI 2025 · RSF 2026 · PNUD IDH 2025 (OWID) · UNHCR 2025 · SIPRI 2026 (OWID) · read on 2026-11-04
  • Memberships · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-11-04
  • Sanctions · US Treasury (OFAC), SDN and non-SDN lists · list of 2026-10-27 · read on 2026-11-04
  • Sanctions · United Kingdom, UK Sanctions List (FCDO) · list of 2026-11-03 · read on 2026-11-04
  • Sanctions · European Union, consolidated financial sanctions list · list of 2026-10-23 · read on 2026-11-04
  • Institute dossier (sanctions, treaties, visits, capabilities) · as of 2026-05-01
  • Summary · Wikipédia (CC BY-SA 4.0)