Lesotho is the only country located entirely within South Africa.
Lesotho is a mountainous, landlocked kingdom surrounded on every side by South African territory. Its capital and largest city is Maseru, near the western border. The country is sometimes called the “Kingdom in the Sky” because much of its land lies at high elevation.
The modern state developed under Moshoeshoe I during the nineteenth century. It became a British protectorate known as Basutoland in 1868 and gained independence as Lesotho on 4 October 1966. The country retained its monarchy after independence.
Lesotho is distinct from Eswatini, another small kingdom in southern Africa, because Eswatini borders South Africa but is not completely enclosed by it. Lesotho’s highlands support distinctive landscapes, rivers, and winter snowfall. The country also supplies water to South Africa through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, one of the region’s major infrastructure schemes.