LS is the abbreviation for Lesotho, the 137th largest country in the world. Officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, Lesotho is a country located in Southern Africa, bordering South Africa. Maseru is the capital city of Lesotho. Top 10 biggest cities are Maseru (population: 118,344), Mafeteng (population: 57,048), Hlotse (population: 47,664), Maputsoe (population: 32,106), Mohale’s Hoek (population: 28,301), Qacha’s Nek (population: 25,562), Quthing (population: 24,121), Butha-Buthe (population: 16,321), Nako (population: 13,135), and Mokhotlong (population: 8,811).
Country Profile
- Capital: Maseru
- Language: Sesotho, English
- Area: 30,355 km2
- Population: 2,203,810
- Currency: Lesotho loti (LSL), South African rand (ZAR)
- Time zone: UTC+2
- Calling code: 266
- ISO 2-Letter Abbreviation: LS
- UN 3-Letter Abbreviation: LSO
- Internet TLD: .ls
- State Government Website:
List of Lesotho Acronyms
The most commonly used abbreviations about Lesotho are LS which stands for Lesotho and LSL which means Lesotho loti (Lesotho currency). In the following table, you can see all acronyms related to Lesotho, including abbreviations for airport, city, school, port, government, and etc.
Geography
Lesotho is a small mountain country totally surrounded by South Africa on all sides. The entire country is over 1000 meters above sea level, and the highest mountain is 3482 meters above sea level. The river Orange has cut deep valleys with fertile soil in the west. The climate is typically inland climate with cold winters with rainfall and hot summers with drought.
Lack of arable land and overgrazing has led to serious soil erosion damage. Both plant and animal life have been depleted. Forests no longer exist, but fast-growing species of wood such as the eucalyptus have been planted to counteract the destruction of the soil. The development of hydropower plants also threatens large natural areas in the country.
History
People have lived in Lesotho for over 50,000 years. The first inhabitants were hunters and sanctuaries of the san people. From 500 BCE, several Bantu-speaking peoples began to settle in the area. Very little is known about the country’s early history.
In the 19th century, there were major conflicts and wars in the area, both among the local people and with Europeans (residents) who emigrated from their colonies along the coast. In an effort to avoid the many conflicts in the area, the Sotho chief Moshoeshoe formed a kingdom in 1830. To protect himself against the peasants, the kingdom sought support from the British colonial power. The kingdom became a British protectorate, and later also a colony. The colony, then called Basutoland, had much autonomy.
In 1966 the country became independent and took the name Lesotho. The years following the liberation were marked by political turmoil. A number of bargains took place, and the king was forced into exile several times. In the late 1990s, a process of introducing democratic governance began. However, the political turmoil has persisted, and since 2012 new riots and several political assaults have taken place.
Society and politics
Lesotho is a democratic monarchy in which the king has a symbolic role. The executive power falls to a government ruled by a prime minister. The prime minister and the government are elected every five years. The general elections are considered to be little democratic, and electoral fraud is widespread.
Lesotho party politics is characterized more by strong personalities than by ideology. Among other things, local chieftains have a great influence. Poverty alleviation, the development of the welfare state and infrastructure are the most important political issues.
The position of women in society is low. Although discrimination against women is prohibited by law, women in the labor market earn an average of one third of men. Lesotho is one of the countries in the world most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Around a quarter of the adult population is infected with HIV. This causes many children to be born with HIV infection and many to become orphans at a young age.
Economics and Commerce
Lesotho has few natural resources and only ten percent of the land is cultivable. Despite this, about half of the population feed on agriculture. Since the turn of the millennium, diamond mining and the textile industry have also become an important part of the country’s economy.
Economically, the country is highly dependent on the large neighboring country that surrounds them, and the currency is linked to the South African rand. Many Basutos work in South Africa, and as it has become more difficult to find jobs in the neighboring mining industry, unemployment in Lesotho has increased.
Hydropower is the only major industry. Nonetheless, only a few of the country’s inhabitants have benefited, while the majority of the population still lives in great poverty.
Tourism has also been an important industry for the country, but recent political unrest has put this industry at risk. About one in five lives in absolute poverty.
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