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Compare Bahamas, The (2001) - Lesotho (2002)
Compare Bahamas, The (2001) z Lesotho (2002)
| Bahamas, The (2001) | Lesotho (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486) 15-64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674) 65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 65 (2000 est.) | 28 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total:
13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
| Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$766 million expenditures: $845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
| Capital | Nassau | Maseru |
| Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 3,542 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
| Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $385.8 million (2000 est.) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP embassy: Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
| Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of 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 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. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.362 billion kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 1.465 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | 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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); 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), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 | $376.8 million (2000 est.) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
| Exports - partners | US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | 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 - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering | - |
| Imports | $1.73 billion (2000 est.) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
| Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 700,000 economically active |
| Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
| Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | based on English common law | 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 (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5 |
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 NA 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:
70.46 years male: 67.27 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT ships by type: bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | 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 | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | $34 million (1999) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun:
Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
| Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | 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; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; 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 | NA |
| Population | 297,852
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.) |
2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 215,000 (1997) | NA (2002) |
| Railways | 0 km | 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 | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 22,200 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 21,600 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9% (1998 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | none | none |
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