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Compare Bahrain (2004) - Lesotho (2003)
Compare Bahrain (2004) z Lesotho (2003)
| Bahrain (2004) | Lesotho (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.4% (male 97,179; female 95,043)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 271,015; female 192,342) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 11,426; female 10,881) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 4 (2003 est.) | 28 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir, installed in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. | 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. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
| Birth rate | 18.54 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.981 billion
expenditures: $3.019 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
| Capital | Manama | Maseru |
| Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 161 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14 February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | Bahraini dinar (BHD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
| Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.682 billion (2003) | $735 million (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE
embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1725-6242 (consular) |
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 KHALIFA bin ALI bin Rashid Al Khalifa
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
| Economic aid - recipient | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) | $41.5 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | In well-to-do Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil granted as aid. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. | 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, but the government has 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 and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. 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 | 5.819 billion kWh (2001) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 6.257 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs | 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, 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 | Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001), 0.376 (2000), 0.376 (1999) | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister 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 | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
| Exports - partners | US 3.5%, India 3.3%, South Korea 2.2% (2003) | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam | 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 - $11.29 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 42.1% services: 57.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2003 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 26 00 N, 50 33 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 3,261 km
paved: 2,531 km unpaved: 730 km (2000) |
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, chemicals | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
| Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 30.7%, US 11.4%, Japan 7.8%, UK 5.7%, Germany 5.4% (2003) | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) |
| Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
| Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.2% (2003 est.) | 10% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 50 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | 350,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2003 est.) |
838,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 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: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and 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 Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006) election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10 note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002 |
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: 73.98 years
male: 71.52 years female: 76.51 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
by type: bulk 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 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 | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $618.1 million (2003) | $34 million (1999) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.5% (2003) | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 221,661 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 121,484 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,396 (2004 est.) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts; dust storms | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
| Net migration rate | 1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed | 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 | Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active | NA |
| Population | 677,886
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
1,861,959
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 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 49% (1999) |
| Population growth rate | 1.56% (2004 est.) | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| 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 | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.41 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (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 | 185,800 (2003) | 22,200 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 443,100 (2003) | 21,600 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 2.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 15% (1998 est.) | 45% (2002) |
| Waterways | - | none |
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