In the last two decades, the Blue Crane has largely disappeared from the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

In the 15 years of existence, the OUT has enrolled students from Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Hungary, Burundi, Libya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Lesotho, Botswana and most of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Lesotho has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters.

According to the 2006 census, Lesotho has a total population of 1, 872, 721.

Although the majority of the population — 59. 8 percent — is between 15 and 64 years of age, Lesotho has a substantial youth population numbering around 35. 3 percent.

Lesotho ’ s progress in moving from a predominantly subsistence-oriented economy to a lower middle income, diversified economy exporting natural resources and manufacturing goods has brought higher, more secure incomes to a significant portion of the population.

Lesotho has received economic aid from a variety of sources, including the United States, the World Bank, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Germany.

Lesotho has nearly 6, 000 kilometers of unpaved and modern all-weather roads.

As a landlocked country, Lesotho has no seaports or harbours, but does possess road, air, and limited rail infrastructure.

The most weight has been given to connecting the district centres, but the roads within central Lesotho have also been improved, as part of the construction needs of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

Lesotho has historically maintained generally close ties with Ireland ( Lesotho's largest bi-lateral aid donor ), the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Western states.

Lesotho has significant relations with Ireland.

The Irish Government has donated aid to Lesotho since 1975.

The Peace Corps has operated in Lesotho since 1966.

The UNCCD has 194 country Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Malawi was one of only three Sub-Saharan black African states ( the others being Lesotho and Swaziland ) that continued to maintain full diplomatic relations with Israel in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and has never severed such ties.

Swaziland was one of only three Sub-Saharan black African states ( the others being Lesotho and Malawi ) that continued to maintain full diplomatic relations with Israel in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and has never severed such ties.

Nando's has locations in Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Botswana, Canada, Cyprus, Fiji, India, Ireland, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

McLean has performed, conducted workshops and lectured at numerous universities and cultural programs in the U. S. and Caribbean ( including Cuba ), as well as in South America, Europe, Lebanon, Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Traditional or fixed transhumance occurs or has occurred throughout the inhabited world, including Austria, Bulgaria, Caucasus, Chad, Croatia, France, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Republic of Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Scandinavia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Georgia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Lesotho.

In addition to the Batswana or ' Western Sotho ', the Sotho-Tswana group includes the Basotho of Lesotho and the Orange Free State, to whom the term ' Sotho ' has come to be more specifically and almost exclusively applied.

The Batlokwa clans reside in Botswana, Lesotho & South Africa, it is not known how many Batlokoa are there as a specific censes has not being done.

Since his retirement in 1998 Sir Ketumile Masire has been involved in numerous diplomatic initiatives in a number of African countries, including Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Swaziland.

The Lesotho courts have taken the unusual step of prosecuting the large companies involved in the scandal in addition to the Lesotho bureaucrat who took the bribes.

* Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Niger, Togo, Central African Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Angola, Comoros, Mauritius, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana

* Sierra Leone, Ghana, Togo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Seychelles, Madagascar, Somalia

193-Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

In addition to the Jonathan regime's alienation of Basotho powerbrokers and the local population, South Africa had virtually closed the country's land borders because of Lesotho support of cross-border operations of the African National Congress ( ANC ).

To this end, Operation Boleas, consisting of South African and ( later ) Botswana troops, entered Lesotho on September 22, 1998 to put down the mutiny and restore the democratically elected government.

The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, mining, and depends heavily on inflows of workers ’ remittances and receipts from the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU ).

The global economic crisis hit the Lesotho economy hard through loss of textile exports and jobs in the sector due largely to the economic slowdown in the United States which is a major export destination, reduced diamond mining and exports, including weak prices for diamonds ; drop in SACU revenues due to the economic slowdown in the South African economy, and reduction in worker remittances due to weakening of the South African economy and contraction of the mining sector and related job losses in South Africa.

Lesotho, is a member of the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU ) in which tariffs have been eliminated on the trade of goods between other member countries, which also include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Rand Monetary Area that uses the South African rand as the common currency.

Lesotho also is active in the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, and many other international organizations.

The Southern African regional office of the U. S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) in Gaborone, Botswana now administers most of the U. S. assistance to Lesotho, which totaled approximately $ 2 million in FY 2004.

In addition to its membership in the Southern African Development Community ( SADC ), Namibia presently belongs to the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU ) with South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU ), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries.

In the interior, nestled in the curve of the bean-shaped Free State, lies the small mountainous country of Lesotho, completely surrounded by South African territory.

Lesotho was one of only three Sub-Saharan black African states ( the others being Malawi and Swaziland ) that maintained full diplomatic relations with Israel in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti *, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati *, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic *, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela ( Bolivarian Republic of ), Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The South African company also operates stores in Bahrain, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho.