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General Information Area: 30,355 sq km (11,720 sq miles). Population: 2,143,141 (2000). Population Density: 67.9 per sq km. Capital: Maseru. Population: 170,000 (1990). GEOGRAPHY: Lesotho is a landlocked country surrounded on all sides by South Africa. It is a mountainous kingdom situated at the highest part of the Drakensberg escarpment on the eastern rim of the South African plateau. Its mountainous terrain is cut by countless valleys and ravines, making it a country of great beauty. To the west, the land descends through a foothill zone of rolling hills to a lowland belt along the border where two thirds of the population live. Three large rivers, the Orange, the Caledon and the Tugela, rise in the mountains. Government: Kingdom. Gained independence from the UK in 1966. Head of State: King Letsie III since 1996. Head of Government: Prime Minister Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili since 1998. Language: Sesotho and English. Religion: Christian; mainly Anglican, Roman Catholic and Lesotho Evangelical. The remainder belong to other denominations, including Islam. Time: GMT + 2. Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications:   Telephone IDD is available to some cities. Country code: 266 (no area codes). Outgoing international code: 00. There is a limited internal telephone network. Mobile telephone GSM 900 networks operated by Vodacom Lesotho and Econet Ezi-Cel. Coverage is limited to main urban areas. Internet There are Internet cafes in Maseru. ISPs include LEO Internet Services (website: www.lesoff.co.za). Telegram Limited facilities exist in main post offices and hotels. For charges, contact the High Commission or Embassy. Post Post offices are generally open Mon-Fri 0800-1300 and 1400-1630, Sat 0800-1200. Press Southern Star and The Survivor are the major English-language newspapers. The Mirror and Lesotho Today are also published in English. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 21.47 12.10 11.94 6.005 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.