Part 481

Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment effecting more than half of the labor force (1996 est.)

Budget: revenues : $445 million expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $128 million (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 12.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 13,400 kW (1993) note: 98% of electricity supplied by South Africa

Electricity - production: NA kWh note: 98% of electricity supplied by South Africa

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports: total value: $218 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: clothing, furniture, footwear, machinery and equipment, wool (1993) partners: South African Customs Union 46%, North America 34%, EU 18% (1993)

Imports: total value: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.) commodities: corn, clothing, building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1993) partners: South African Customs Union 83%, Asia 12%, EU 3% (1993)

Debt - external: $512 million (1993)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente note : maloti (M) is the plural form of loti

Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1 - 4.6410 (January 1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992); note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

@Lesotho:Communications

Telephones: 12,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international : satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 66,000

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 11,000 (1992 est.)

@Lesotho:Transportation

Railways: total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)

Highways: total : 4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1995 est.)

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: 29 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total : 25 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 23 (1996 est.)