Collectively known as the Basotho, most of the population lives in the more arable lower lands of the north-west, close to Maseru. The population, estimated at 2,2m in 2000, has more than doubled since 1966.
Almost half the population is classified as poor, and a quarter as very poor. Growing unemployment, worsened by the decline in Basotho working as miners in South Africa, is putting increasing pressure on the government to find ways of alleviating poverty.
Lesotho is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 120 out of 162 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index in 2001. An estimated 58% of the population is trapped below the income poverty line.
Education
Literacy levels are notably high - 82%. However, the provision of education has not been able to keep up with demand, and educational standards and facilities have deteriorated, aggravated by the recent introduction of free primary education. Pupil/teacher ratios at 70:1 are notably high. The provision of tertiary education remains insufficient.
Health
The level of health is generally good; primary healthcare in the rural areas is being improved, some 80% of the population having access to health services.
HIV/AIDS
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has risen sharply from almost zero in 1992 to an estimated 31% of the adult population at the end of 2001. Progress made in human development and poverty over the past 10 years is being rapidly reversed by the severity of the pandemic.
Food security
Drought has frequently affected Lesotho’s agricultural sector. In mid-2002 close to half a million people out of Lesotho’s total population of 2.2 million faced a severe humanitarian crisis that required the immediate assistance of the international community. It was estimated that 32% of the rural population would require targeted food aid in 2002/03. The immediate causes of the emergency were the combined effects of reduced agricultural output due to adverse weather conditions and the steep increases in prices for staple foods; underlying causes are reflected in widespread poverty and a weak economy.
