Chapter two: Country background and context living in rural areas. About half the population (56.7 per cent) lives below the poverty line. In recent years, life expectancy has been decreasing and the population is said to be declining. 50. Lesotho is grouped among the 49 least developed countries and was ranked 138 out of 177 countries on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) in 2007. Poverty in Lesotho is widespread, with about 56.7 per cent living under the poverty line.11 Life expectancy is estimated at 42.4 years (2006), a worrisome decline from 49 years in 2000, 57 years in 1995 and 59 years in 1990.12 Moreover, the declining population growth rate, coupled with the high prevalence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (23.2 per cent), means that Lesotho’s limited human resources are steadily being depleted. Forty per cent of the population is below the age of 15. The age structure of the population of Lesotho, as affected by the level of fertility and mortality, has implications for the welfare of the whole nation. Lack of employment opportunities for many young people aggravates the prevalence of poverty. 51. Migratory movements continue to be important in Lesotho as economic realities compel the Basotho to drift from rural to urban areas and to South Africa for employment. It is estimated that 32 per cent of the male labour force aged 16 to 65 consists of labour migrants in South Africa. Remittances from migrant workers constitute between 20.9 and 29.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The recent economic crisis has resulted in increasing retrenchment from the mines, compounding further the existing unemployment situation and limiting financial remittances to families. 52. The government of Lesotho has taken several steps in an attempt to improve the position of women in Lesotho. These entail the inclusion of gender issues in development plans, the revision of laws and the drafting of policy documents addressing gender equality. This has largely resulted in improvements with regard to the status of women, but patriarchal cultural practices continue to militate against the realisation of full rights and privileges under the various laws and conventions. 53. The most critical socioeconomic challenge facing Lesotho is HIV and AIDS. Lesotho has the thirdhighest prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the world, with adult prevalence at 23.2 per cent among the 15 to 59 age group, while an estimated 270,000 adults were living with HIV as at 200713. This has had a substantial effect on the country’s social structure, livelihoods and food security. The HIV and AIDS epidemic constitutes not only a health crisis, but also a serious development crisis and is a key variable in programmes for tackling the governance and development challenges facing the country. 2.2 Political history 54. 11 12 13 32 Since independence from Britain in 1966, the political history of Lesotho has been dominated by instability, controversy and conflict, sometimes spilling over into violence. This dynamic has UNDP (2008) Lesotho: Millennium Development Goals Status Report. World Bank (2009) Millennium Development Goals: Lesotho; World Development Indicators. National AIDS Commission (NAC) (2008).