Lesotho - Infrastructure, power, and communications

Printed and electronic media are available from 3 sources. South African newspapers, magazines, radio and television are the most numerous and widespread. Of these independent publications, the Mopheme (Survivor) and The Mirror are the most popular. Catholic and Evangelical church newspapers that appear on a weekly and bi-weekly schedule are a second source. Finally, the Lesotho News Agency (LENA) provides government- sanctioned perspectives on all issues. One organ of this, the Lesotho National Broadcasting Service, offers programs in English and Sesotho. There are 2 FM radio stations and 1 AM radio station. LENA plans to establish an Internet news service in the next few years. The government tolerates criticism from independent media.

There is no national airline, but South African Airways offers direct flights from Johannesburg to Maseru. The 31 other airstrips scattered throughout the country

Communications
Country	Newspapers	Radios	TV Sets a	Cable subscribers a	Mobile Phones a	Fax Machines a	Personal Computers a	Internet Hosts b	Internet Users b
	1996	1997	1998	1998	1998	1998	1998	1999	1999
Lesotho	8	49	25	N/A	5	N/A	N/A	0.08	1
United States	215	2,146	847	244.3	256	78.4	458.6	1,508.77	74,100
South Africa	32	317	125	N/A	56	3.5	47.4	33.36	1,820
Dem. Rep. of Congo	3	375	135	N/A	0	N/A	N/A	0.00	1
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people.
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people.
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000.

service private aircraft and occasional charter flights. The South African railroad stops near Maseru and connects to points within Southern Africa.

In 2000, 18.3 percent (800 kilometers/480 miles) of the roads were paved. The remaining 1,600 kilometers (960 miles) vary between high quality gravel corridors and rough dirt tracks. Road upgrades since 1970 were designed to unite the country, improve commerce, and reduce the dependence on peripheral South African roads.