Military - note:
Lesotho's declared policy is maintenance of its independent sovereignty and preservation of internal security; in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa; restructuring of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and Ministry of Defense and Public Service over the past five years has focused on subordinating the defense apparatus to civilian control and restoring the LDF's cohesion; the restructuring has considerably improved capabilities and professionalism, but the LDF is disproportionately large for a small, poor country; the government has outlined a reduction to a planned 1,500-man strength, but these plans have met with vociferous resistance from the political opposition and from inside the LDF (2008)

NOTE: The information regarding Lesotho on this page is re-published from the 2009 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lesotho Military 2009 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lesotho Military 2009 should be addressed to the CIA.