Lesotho Operational Plan Report Fy 2013

Book excerpt: The Kingdom of Lesotho, located in the eastern part of Southern Africa, covers an area of 30,350 km2 and has a population of 1,876,633 million. Largely mountainous, 23% of the population lives in urban areas clustered along the flatter north-western borders. The remaining 77% live in rural and difficult to access areas. Less than 20% of the population has salaried employment and 77% of households in Lesotho depend on subsistence agricultural as their main source of food. Employment in Lesotho is limited; 43% of the population lives on less than $1.25 per day and the Lesotho workforce depend on migration to the Republic of South Africa for work opportunities such as mining, agriculture, construction, and domestic work. Health indicators are poor; maternal mortality has increased to 1,155 deaths per 100,000 live births and population growth declined to 0.08%. The impact of the HIV epidemic has been identified as a major factor in the decline in population growth and is linked to broader health and development challenges for Lesotho.