ABSTRACT
The modern Kingdom of Lesotho inherited its boundaries from the British colony of Basutoland. It has a land area of 11,716 square miles, slightly larger than the state of Maryland. Rainfall is markedly seasonal and variable both from place to place and year to year; Lesotho is in the "summer rain region" of southern Africa, with winters normally dry, although some snow usually falls in the mountains. The average rainfall is theoretically adequate for arable agriculture in the lowlands and foothills. The common root Sotho is found in the name of the country, Lesotho, the language, Sesotho, and the words for a person, a Mosotho, and the people, Basotho. Because many adult Basotho males temporarily migrate to South Africa to live and work, it is customary to distinguish between the de facto population, those physically present in the country, and the de jure population, those who are legal permanent residents.
