Lesotho vs Eswatini

Why people mix them up

Both are tiny kingdoms almost swallowed by South Africa, both kept their monarchies through independence from Britain in the 1960s, and both have currencies pegged to the South African rand. Eswatini changed its name from Swaziland in 2018, which added another layer of confusion for anyone who learned the old map. Because they are the two small countries "inside" South Africa, people often remember that one exists but tap the wrong one.

How to tell them apart

• Lesotho is completely enclosed by South Africa; Eswatini also borders Mozambique on its eastern side.
• Lesotho is in the south, in the Drakensberg mountains; Eswatini is further north-east, near the Mozambique border and not far from Johannesburg.
• Lesotho is the only country in the world entirely above 1,000 m; Eswatini drops from highlands in the west to lowveld in the east.
• Lesotho is nearly twice the size, about 30,000 km² against Eswatini's 17,000 km², with roughly 2.3 million people against 1.2 million.
• Lesotho's flag is blue-white-green with a black Basotho hat in the centre; Eswatini's is blue-yellow-red with a black-and-white shield, two spears and a staff.
• Lesotho's capital is Maseru and its language is Sesotho; Eswatini's capitals are Mbabane and Lobamba, and its language is Swazi (siSwati).

Memory hook

Lesotho is the "lonely" one, locked in on all sides; Eswatini sits on the East edge of South Africa and gets a peek at Mozambique.

On the map

For Lesotho, find South Africa and tap the round hole in the middle-right part of it, roughly inland from Durban; it is completely surrounded. For Eswatini, go up the eastern border of South Africa towards Mozambique and tap the small country tucked into the notch between the two, just south of Kruger National Park. Lesotho is the one with no second neighbour.