US President Donald Trump has said that "nobody has ever heard of" the African country of Lesotho - a comment that has "shocked" its government.

It is a small country in southern Africa that almost entirely consists of mountains and is completely surrounded by South Africa.

Here are nine things to know about the country:

The Kingdom of Lesotho is made up mostly of highlands, where many villages can only be reached on horseback, by foot or light aircraft.

It is known as the "Kingdom in the Sky" and is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000m (3,281ft) in elevation, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Its lowest point is at 1,400m.

It is known to have one of the world's most intimidating airstrips to land on - the Matekane Airstrip has a short runway and with long drops at both ends.

The Business Insider website describes flying from the airport as "essentially the same as when a bird is pushed out of the nest in order to learn to fly".

Lesotho is completely encircled by South Africa, but separated by the forbidding mountain ranges.

Not much of its land is available for farming, with its population vulnerable to food shortages and relying on income from jobs in South Africa. Over the decades thousands of workers have been forced by the lack of job opportunities at home to find work in South Africa.

The people of Lesotho, who number more than two million, share some cultural and language similarities with South Africans. Their language, Sesotho, is also one of South Africa's 11 official languages. In fact, more people speak it in South Africa - 4.6 million -........

© BBC