Demographics of Lesotho (original) (raw)

**Population:**2,143,141
_note:_estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
_0-14 years:_40% (male 426,556; female 421,563)
_15-64 years:_56% (male 575,580; female 619,280)
_65 years and over:_4% (male 42,274; female 57,888) (2000 est.)

**Population growth rate:**1.65% (2000 est.)

**Birth rate:**31.74 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

**Death rate:**14.59 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

**Net migration rate:**-0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
_at birth:_1.03 male(s)/female
_under 15 years:_1.01 male(s)/female
_15-64 years:_0.93 male(s)/female
_65 years and over:_0.73 male(s)/female
_total population:_0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

**Infant mortality rate:**82.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
_total population:_50.79 years
_male:_49.78 years
_female:_51.84 years (2000 est.)

**Total fertility rate:**4.15 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
_noun:_Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
_adjective:_Basotho

**Ethnic groups:**Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Religions: Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

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.)

See also : Lesotho