
Lesotho has released preliminary results
of the 2006 census. (Thanks to Samuel Villavicencio for finding this page.) Previously, I found the results of the 1996 census and the
2001 demographic survey on a page from the Lesotho Bureau of
Statistics.
A Google search returns a page on the
Ministry of Finance and Development
site that purportedly has preliminary 2006 census figures at variance with these, but the download hasn't been working for me.

| Short name | LESOTHO |
| ISO code | LS |
| FIPS code | LT |
| Language | Sesotho (st), English (en) |
| Time zone | +2 |
| Capital | Maseru |
Basutoland was a British protectorate for the first part of the 20th century. On 1966-10-04, it became independent under the name of Lesotho.


Land of the Sothos

Lesotho is divided into ten districts.
| District | HASC | ISO | FIPS | Population | Area(km.²) | Area(mi.²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berea | LS.BE | D | LT10 | 248,225 | 2,222 | 858 |
| Butha-Buthe | LS.BB | B | LT11 | 109,139 | 1,767 | 682 |
| Leribe | LS.LE | C | LT12 | 296,673 | 2,828 | 1,092 |
| Mafeteng | LS.MF | E | LT13 | 192,795 | 2,119 | 818 |
| Maseru | LS.MS | A | LT14 | 436,399 | 4,279 | 1,652 |
| Mohale's Hoek | LS.MH | F | LT15 | 173,706 | 3,530 | 1,363 |
| Mokhotlong | LS.MK | J | LT16 | 95,332 | 4,075 | 1,573 |
| Qacha's Nek | LS.QN | H | LT17 | 71,756 | 2,349 | 907 |
| Quthing | LS.QT | G | LT18 | 119,811 | 2,916 | 1,126 |
| Thaba-Tseka | LS.TT | K | LT19 | 128,885 | 4,270 | 1,649 |
| 10 districts | 1,872,721 | 30,355 | 11,720 | |||
| ||||||
Note: Berea district has an alternate name, Teyateyaneng. The district is commonly called Berea, but the capital is almost always known as Teyateyaneng. Similarly, the capital of Leribe is also known as Hlotse.
See the Councils of Lesotho page.
The districts were further subdivided into wards until 2005-04-11, when a set of community councils was supposedly introduced.

Lesotho is entirely surrounded by South Africa.


| District | 1976-04-12 | 1986-04-14 | 1996-04-14 | 2006-04-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berea | 150,000 | 194,600 | 240,754 | 248,225 |
| Butha-Buthe | 79,000 | 100,600 | 109,192 | 109,139 |
| Leribe | 203,000 | 258,000 | 300,160 | 296,673 |
| Mafeteng | 162,000 | 195,600 | 211,970 | 192,795 |
| Maseru | 227,000 | 311,100 | 385,869 | 436,399 |
| Mohale's Hoek | 137,000 | 164,400 | 184,034 | 173,706 |
| Mokhotlong | 62,000 | 74,700 | 85,628 | 95,332 |
| Qacha's Nek | 50,000 | 64,000 | 71,665 | 71,756 |
| Quthing | 90,000 | 110,400 | 126,342 | 119,811 |
| Thaba-Tseka | 87,000 | 104,100 | 126,353 | 128,885 |
| Totals | 1,246,815 | 1,577,500 | 1,841,967 | 1,872,721 |
1976 figures were derived as follows: the total population is as given in the Statesman's Year-Book, 1979-80
edition. The Lesotho Bureau of Statistics issued a
report
giving the percentage of total population in each district (Table 17.2). I applied those percentages to the total
population to get the district populations, which are rounded to represent the uncertainty in the percentages.
Other columns are census data.
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