American Samoa (2007) | Lesotho (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.6% (male 10,049/female 9,345)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 19,041/female 17,556) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 606/female 1,066) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2006) |
Area | total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
Birth rate | 21.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million (FY96/97) |
revenues: $738.5 million
expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Pago Pago
geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 116 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Death rate | 3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $735 million (2002) |
Dependency status | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 22 312666 FAX: [266] 22 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $4.4 million |
Economic aid - recipient | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 | $41.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | American Samoa has a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US with which American Samoa conducts most of its commerce. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (2005) | 363.5 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (2005) | 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines | 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) cabinet: Cabinet made up of 12 department directors elections: under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna 93% (2004 est.) | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 28.2%, India 22.3%, Australia 15.3%, Japan 11.2%, NZ 7.1% (2006) | Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club | three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 16.3%
industry: 44.3% services: 39.4% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 20 S, 170 00 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% (2004 est.) | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
Imports - partners | Australia 66%, Samoa 13.8%, NZ 10.8% (2006) | US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999) |
Industries | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC, UPU | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 17,630 (2005) | 838,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 33% services: 33% (1990) |
agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
industry and services: 14% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2005) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005) |
Languages | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census) |
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; to serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held on 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.25 years
male: 72.69 years female: 80.02 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 34.4 years
male: 35.55 years female: 33.21 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | 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): Army and Air Wing |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $41.1 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: American Samoan(s) (US nationals)
adjective: American Samoan |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | typhoons common from December to March | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | pumice, pumicite | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone |
Net migration rate | -21.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] | Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 57,663 (July 2007 est.) | 2,022,331
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | -0.262% (2007 est.) | -0.46% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Religions | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.075 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.085 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.568 male(s)/female total population: 1.062 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat-Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,400 (2004) | 48,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,200 (2004) | 245,100 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2006) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 29.8% (2005) | 45% (2002) |