population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
particulate matter emissions: 27.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 2.51 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 2.56 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal: 20 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
agricultural: 3.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
3.022 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
agricultural land: 76.1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 65.9% (2018 est.)
forest: 1.5% (2018 est.)
other: 22.4% (2018 est.)
forest revenues: 3.34% of GDP (2018 est.)
coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)
urban population: 29.5% of total population (2021)
rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
severe localized food insecurity:
due to localized shortfalls in production and loss of income-generating activities - a slow economic recovery in 2021 will continue to impose constraints on households’ incomes, impinging on their economic capacity to access food; overall, the number of food insecure people is expected to decline from the estimated 582,000 that faced acute food insecurity in the October 2020−March 2021 period; the possibility of a third wave of COVID‑19 cases in the country and neighboring South Africa, increases the risk for the enforcement of new containment measures, which could prolong the high levels of unemployment and cause further income losses among the most vulnerable households
(2021)municipal solid waste generated annually: 73,457 tons (2006 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.