Editing Lesotho (section)

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Lesotho}}
[[File:A vehicle on Sani Pass.jpg|thumb|[[Sani Pass]] on the border is a tourist attraction.]]
The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing and mining, and depends on inflows of workers' [[remittance]]s and receipts from the [[Southern African Customs Union]] (SACU).<ref name="worldbank">{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/LESOTHOEXTN/0,,menuPK:356039~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:356029,00.html |title=World bank Lesotho: Country Brief |access-date=3 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331100012/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/LESOTHOEXTN/0%2C%2CmenuPK%3A356039~pagePK%3A141132~piPK%3A141107~theSitePK%3A356029%2C00.html |archive-date=31 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/lesotho/lesotho_economy.html|title=CIA Lesotho Economy 2011|access-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224071854/http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/lesotho/lesotho_economy.html|archive-date=24 February 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The majority of households subsist on farming. The formal sector employment consists mainly of female workers in the apparel sector, male migrant labour, primarily miners in South Africa for 3 to 9 months, and employment by the Government of Lesotho (GOL). The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone. Almost 50% of the population earn income through informal crop cultivation or [[animal husbandry]] with nearly two-thirds of the country's income coming from the agricultural sector. The percentage of the population living below USD [[Purchasing Power Parity]] (PPP) US$1.25/day fell from 48% to 44% between 1995 and 2003.<ref name="worldbank"/>

Lesotho has taken advantage of the [[African Growth and Opportunity Act]] (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the US from sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centralbank.org.ls/publications/Econo%20Review%20June%202011.pdf|title=Central Bank of Lesotho – Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA): Economic Impact and Future Prospects|access-date=4 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715041226/http://www.centralbank.org.ls/publications/Econo%20Review%20June%202011.pdf|archive-date=15 July 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

US brands and retailers sourcing from Lesotho include Foot Locker, Gap, Gloria Vanderbilt, JCPenney, Levi Strauss, Lululemon Athletica, Saks, Sears, Timberland and Wal-Mart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insightnews.com/business/5126-purchase-for-africa-an-appeal-for-american-apparel-buys|title=Purchase for Africa: An appeal for American apparel buys|access-date=28 October 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101064849/http://insightnews.com/business/5126-purchase-for-africa-an-appeal-for-american-apparel-buys|archive-date=1 November 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In mid-2004, its employment reached over 50,000, mostly female, marking the first time that manufacturing sector workers outnumbered government employees. In 2008, it exported goods worth 487 million dollars mainly to the US.
Since 2004, employment in the sector has dwindled to about 45,000 in mid-2011 due to international competition in the garment sector. It was the largest formal sector employer in Lesotho in 2011.<ref name="smartlessons.ifc.org">{{cite web|url=https://rafiben.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/20110715t110627_smartlesson_lesotho_fdi.pdf|title=World Bank – IFC – Africa Can Compete! The Miracle of Tiny Lesotho—Sub-Saharan Africa's Largest Garment Exporter|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731130428/https://rafiben.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/20110715t110627_smartlesson_lesotho_fdi.pdf|archive-date=31 July 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 

In 2007, the average earnings of an employee in the textile sector were US$103 per month, and the official minimum wage for a general textile worker was US$93 per month. The average gross national income per capita in 2008 was US$83 per month.<ref name="smartlessons.ifc.org"/> The sector initiated a program to fight HIV/AIDS called [[Apparel Lesotho Alliance to fight AIDS|Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS]] (ALAFA). It is an industry-wide program providing disease prevention and treatment for workers.<ref name="alafa">{{cite web|url=http://www.alafa.info/Pages/Default.asp |title=Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) |access-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225072316/http://www.alafa.info/Pages/Default.asp |archive-date=25 February 2011 }}</ref>

{{multiple image|caption_align=center
|align= right
|direction= horizontal
|total_width = 320
|image1= Katse Dam-001.jpg
|caption1=[[Katse Dam]]
|image2=Mohale Dam 2008.jpg
|caption2= [[Mohale Dam]]
|header=
|header_align= centre
}}
Water and [[diamonds]] are some of Lesotho's natural resources.<ref name="worldbank"/> Water is used through the 21-year, multibillion-dollar [[Lesotho Highlands Water Project]] (LHWP), under the authority of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority. The project commenced in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lhwp.org.ls/overview/treaty.htm |title=Lesotho Highlands Water Project: The Treaty |publisher=Lhwp.org.ls |date=24 October 1986 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219001053/http://www.lhwp.org.ls/overview/treaty.htm |archive-date=19 December 2013 }}</ref> LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the [[Orange River]] system to [[Free State (province)|South Africa's Free State]] and greater [[Johannesburg]] area. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho "almost completely self-sufficient" in the production of electricity and generated approximately US$70 million in 2010 from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lhwp.org.ls/Reports/PDF/Water%20Sales.pdf |title=LHWP Water Sales |access-date=8 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510100115/http://www.lhwp.org.ls/Reports/PDF/Water%20Sales.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref>

Diamonds are produced at the Letšeng, Mothae, Liqhobong, and Kao mines, which combined are estimated to produce 240,000 carats of diamonds in 2014, worth US$300 million. The Letšeng mine is estimated to produce diamonds with an average value of US$2172 per carat, making it the world's richest mine on an average price per carat basis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.letsengdiamonds.co.ls/about-us/corporate-profile/|title=Corporate Profile|date=29 September 2016|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=8 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308031828/https://www.letsengdiamonds.co.ls/about-us/corporate-profile/|url-status=live}}</ref> The sector underwent a setback in 2008 as the result of the world recession and rebounded in 2010 and 2011. The export of diamonds reached US$230 million in 2010–2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centralbank.org.ls/publications/Quart%20Review%20Jun%202011.pdf|title=Central Bank of Lesotho – QUARTERLY REVIEW – June 2011|access-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209055906/http://www.centralbank.org.ls/publications/Quart%20Review%20Jun%202011.pdf|archive-date=9 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 

The Letšeng-la-Terae Kimberlite Pipes – the Main Pipe and the Satellite Pipe – were discovered on the 14th December 1957 by graduate geologist Peter H. Nixon while working in the area as part of colonel Jack Scott’s early prospecting expeditions. Nixon went on to become an academic, publishing two very influential books on mantle petrology. Peter Nixon was a visionary who brought the scientific community’s attention to the growing evidence of orogenically-emplaced mantle rocks from the diamond stability field, co-authoring numerous key publications that provided the first strong evidence for this process. He retired as Professor Emeritus of Mantle Geology from Leeds University, UK. His academic career is honoured in the naming of the mineral ‘Nixonite’ after him.
Keith Whitelock was engaged on a different exploration team when Letšeng was discovered by Nixon in 1957, but he did go on to become Letšeng’s general manager before De Beers closed it in 1982. He subsequently obtained the lease for Letšeng-la-Terae and developed the mine. He is therefore rightly recognised as a key player in establishing Lesotho’s diamond mining industry. Nixon and Whitelock were great friends and collaborators over many years.

In 1967, a {{convert|601|carat|g|adj=on}} diamond ([[Brown diamonds|Lesotho Brown]]) was discovered in the mountains by a Mosotho woman. In August 2006, a {{convert|603|carat|g|adj=on}} white diamond, the [[Lesotho Promise]], was discovered at the Letšeng-la-Terae mine. Another {{convert|478|carat|g|adj=on}} diamond was discovered at the same location in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dan |last=Oancea |title=Letseng-la-Terae: The 603 Carat Lesotho Promise Diamond |url=http://technology.infomine.com/articles/1/47/letseng.diamond.lesotho/letseng-la-terae.the.603.aspx |publisher=Technology.infomine.com |access-date=20 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213025641/http://technology.infomine.com/articles/1/47/letseng.diamond.lesotho/letseng-la-terae.the.603.aspx |archive-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Lesotho has progressed in moving from a predominantly subsistence-oriented economy to a lower middle-income economy through exporting natural resources and manufacturing goods. The exporting sectors have brought "higher and more secure" incomes to a portion of the population.<ref name="worldbank"/> The global economic crisis caused Lesotho to suffer a loss of textile exports and jobs due to the economic slowdown in the United States, one of their export destinations. Reduced diamond mining and exports, including a drop in the price of diamonds and a drop in SACU revenues due to the economic slowdown in the South African economy contributed to the crisis. A reduction in worker remittances due to the "weakening" of the South African economy, contraction of the mining sector, and related job losses in South Africa contributed to Lesotho's GDP growth slowing to 0.9% in 2009.<ref name="worldbank"/>

The official currency is the [[Lesotho loti|loti]] (plural: maloti) which can be used interchangeably with the [[South African rand]]. The loti is at par with the rand. Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, and South Africa form a common currency and exchange control area known as the [[Common Monetary Area]] (CMA).