Distillers Country guides / Lesotho
Lesotho
A one-page guide to Lesotho for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Maseru
- Official languages
- Sesotho, English
- Currency
- Lesotho loti (LSL); South African rand also circulates
- Time zone
- UTC+2 (no daylight saving)
- Area
- 30,355 km²
People
- Population
- 2.4 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 1.1% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 44.7%
- Aged under 15
- 34.1%
- Aged 65 and over
- 3.9%
- Life expectancy
- 57.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$2.8 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$1,170 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.5% (2025)
- Inflation
- 4% (2025)
Climate
Cooler than other places at similar latitude because of altitude. Most rain falls as summer thunderstorms; lowlands can get hot in summer and cold in winter, and snow is common in the highlands from May to September, which can close mountain roads.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (Liquor Licensing Act 1998 s.39, as cited by Wikipedia)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 4.24 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
- Traditional drinks
- Locally brewed beer, Fermented ginger beer
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; Wikipedia - Lesotho; Lesotho Times - Maluti Mountain Brewery interview (31 Dec 2014); SABMiller brands (Wikipedia). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.