Butha-Buthe District

As of 2014, the district had a population of 118,242, 5.88 per cent of the population of the country. The area of the district was 1,767, 5.82 per cent of the country. The population density was 62 persons per square kilometre, same as the country as a whole. There were five constituencies and ten community councils in the district.^[2] As of 2006, 323 persons tested HIV positive, 20.20 per cent of the country's HIV positive population. 128 of these were men (12.40 per cent); 195 were women (25.30 per cent).^[3]

In the north, Butha-Buthe borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on Mokhotlong District in southeast and Leribe District on the south. It is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude. The Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) 1,800 m (5,900 ft) above the sea level. These lands are the major agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm (39 in), most of which is received during the rainy season of October to April. Though it rains during all the months of the year, groundwater is limited on account of run-offs. The region has a temperate climate on account of the elevation and is humid during most parts of the year. The temperature in low lands vary from 32 °C (90 °F) to −7 °C (19 °F) in the winter.^[4]

As of 2008, there were 49 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 71,012 employed people out of a total of 154,384 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6–14 years was 1,232 out of a total of 43,674 people in the district in the age group. The labour force participation stood at 180.50. The number of people involved in subsistence agriculture is 836 and the number of people in other sectors was 396. The number of unemployed people in the district was 21,800 and the unemployment rate was 071.^[7] The total area planted in 2009 was 7,164 which formed 1.77 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 3,108 tonnes, which was 2.06 per cent of the totals in the country. The major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 2,023 tonnes, beans was 088 tonnes, sorghum was 64 tonnes, peas was 453 tonnes and wheat was 480 tonnes as of 2008.^[8] As of 2007, there were a total of 293 km (182 mi) of paved roads in the district, with 105 km (65 mi) paved roads and 188 km (117 mi) of unpaved roads.^[9]