Nine things about Lesotho - the country 'nobody has ever heard of'

US President Donald Trump has said that "nobody has ever heard of" the African state of Lesotho - a remark that has "shocked" its government.

It is simply a tiny state successful confederate Africa that astir wholly consists of mountains and is wholly surrounded by South Africa.

Here are 9 things to cognize astir the country:

The Kingdom of Lesotho is made up mostly of highlands, wherever galore villages tin lone beryllium reached connected horseback, by ft oregon airy aircraft.

It is known arsenic the "Kingdom successful the Sky" and is the lone autarkic authorities successful the satellite that lies wholly supra 1,000m (3,281ft) successful elevation, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Its lowest constituent is astatine 1,400m.

It is known to person 1 of the world's astir intimidating airstrips to onshore connected - the Matekane Airstrip has a abbreviated runway and with agelong drops astatine some ends.

The Business Insider website describes flying from the airdrome arsenic "essentially the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile a vertebrate is pushed retired of the nest successful bid to larn to fly".

Lesotho is wholly encircled by South Africa, but separated by the forbidding upland ranges.

Not overmuch of its onshore is disposable for farming, with its colonisation susceptible to nutrient shortages and relying connected income from jobs successful South Africa. Over the decades thousands of workers person been forced by the deficiency of occupation opportunities astatine location to find enactment successful South Africa.

The radical of Lesotho stock immoderate taste and connection similarities with South Africans. Their language, Sesotho, is besides 1 of South Africa's 11 authoritative languages.

Resources are scarce successful Lesotho - a effect of the harsh situation of the highland plateau and constricted cultivation abstraction successful the lowlands.

Its biggest assets is h2o - known locally arsenic achromatic golden - which is exported to South Africa. Diamonds are different large export.

• Who benefits from Lesotho’s ‘white gold’?

When you deliberation of skiing and snowboarding, you whitethorn ideate the snowy slopes of Europe and North America.

But Lesotho has been making itself known connected the snowsports scene. It has the highest skis edifice successful sub-Saharan Africa, 1 of conscionable a fistful connected the continent.

Afriski is situated 3,222m supra oversea level, precocious up successful Lesotho's Maloti mountains and attracts visitors from Africa and beyond.

• Is Lesotho the adjacent apical skis resort?

People from Lesotho are referred to arsenic Basotho.

Some of the taste items associated with the Basotho radical are their blankets and the Basotho accepted conical hats, known arsenic the mokorotlo. The chapeau is simply a nationalist awesome and appears successful the mediate of the country's flag.

The blankets are made from heavy wool, with their intricate and colourful patterns each telling a antithetic communicative of the Basotho people's history. The Basotho deterioration them arsenic shawls astatine peculiar events and springiness them arsenic gifts.

Lesotho has 1 of the highest rates of HIV prevalence successful the world, with 1 successful 5 adults surviving with HIV, and much infections per 100,000 radical than astir different countries, including neighbouring Namibia, Botswana and Eswatini.

The US authorities has committed astir $1bn to assistance the state woody with HIV since 2006, including for prevention, attraction and attraction services, according to the US State Department.

Prince Harry and his adjacent person Lesotho's Prince Seeiso person acceptable up a foundation successful the state - Sentebale, which means "forget maine not". The foundation works with section communities successful Lesotho astatine grassroots level, helping young radical affected by HIV/Aids.

Prince Harry archetypal went to Lesotho arsenic a 19-year-old and has returned to the state galore times since then.

Lesotho is 1 of the largest sub-Saharan African exporters of covering to the US, according to the US government's International Trade Administration (ITA) website.

The exports, which see jeans and textiles, are done done the US commercialized programme, African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) which allows eligible African countries to nonstop immoderate of goods to the US without paying taxes.

It is ranked 2nd by worth of goods exported nether the deal.

• 'Our textiles usage iconic symbols of Lesotho'

The upland kingdom has the world's highest termination rate, with 87.5 radical per 100,000 of the colonisation taking their ain beingness each year, according to the UN World Health Organization.

This is astir 10 times the planetary mean of 9 and much than treble the state with the 2nd highest rate, Guyana, which has astir 40.

There is nary azygous crushed for this shocking statistic - experts constituent to the maltreatment of drugs and alcohol, the shortage of jobs and the deficiency of intelligence wellness counselling.

• The tiny African state with the world's highest termination rate