Akrotiri (2006) | Lesotho (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | - | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | - | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Maseru |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | - | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $720 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | - | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $123.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | - | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | - | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state:
King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | - | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
Exports - partners | - | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | - | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
Imports | - | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
Imports - partners | - | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
Independence | - | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | - | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | - | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | - | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | - | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Greek | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | - | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | - | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | - | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | - | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
2,177,062
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 49.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 104,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | - | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1,262 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | - | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | - | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |