Population 2,089,829 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 40% (male 420,526; female 419,059)
15-64 years: 55% (male 558,068; female 596,598)
65 years and over: 5% (male 39,782; female 55,796) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 1.91% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 31.84 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 12.76 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 78.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 53.97 years
male: 52.18 years
female: 55.81 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 4.13 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho

Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Religions Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 71.3%
male: 81.1%
female: 62.3% (1995 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.