Eritrea (2001) | Lesotho (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, became effective in 1997; the new provinces, the names of which had not been recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the US Government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, were: Anseba, Debub, Debubawi Keyih Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri; more recently, it has been reported that these provinces have been redesignated regions and renamed Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, and Central |
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.85% (male 922,691; female 918,916) 15-64 years: 53.87% (male 1,147,927; female 1,167,705) 65 years and over: 3.28% (male 71,232; female 69,798) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818) 65 years and over: 5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 20 (2000 est.) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
18 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
Area | total:
121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. | 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 was reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven 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. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to periodically demonstrate their distrust of the results. |
Birth rate | 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$283.9 million expenditures: $351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $951.4 million
expenditures: $855.4 million (2007 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | - |
Death rate | 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $693 million (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador William D. CLARKE embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert NOLAN
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mabasia MOHOBANE
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two-year war with Ethiopia, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | $68.82 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | With independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road construction is a top domestic priority. In the long term, Eritrea may benefit from the development of offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. Eritrea's economic future depends on its ability to master fundamental social and economic problems, e.g., by reducing illiteracy, promoting job creation, expanding technical training, attracting foreign investment, and streamlining the bureaucracy. Eritrea's agriculture over the last two years was severely weakened by war and drought, and many farmlands must wait to be demined. Another major difficulty is the ports, which prior to the war were Ethiopia's preferred outlets but since have seen trade dry up. | 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 and also generates royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. 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. In July 2007 Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 153.5 million kWh (1999) | 338.5 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) |
Electricity - production | 165 million kWh (1999) | 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | 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, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | maloti per US dollar - 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next tentatively scheduled for December 2001) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
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, that 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 | $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) | US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle | 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 | purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 27% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 45% services: 39.7% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2000 est.) | 4.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total:
3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.) |
Imports | $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 1,400 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) | Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 12% (2007 est.) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 79.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 75.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 12% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | NA | 838,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | 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% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005) |
Languages | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws | 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 | unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until country-wide elections to a National Assembly are held; only 75 members will be elected to the National Assembly - the other 75 will be members of the Central Committee of the PFDJ; parliamentary elections are now scheduled for NA December 2001 |
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 popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.18 years male: 53.73 years female: 58.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 39.97 years
male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
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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 | Army, Navy, Air Force | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $160 million (2000 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 29.4% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone |
Net migration rate | 7.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: according to the UNHCR, about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan have registered for voluntary repatriation, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Sudan in January 2000 |
-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon]; note - the National Assembly has appointed a committee to draft a law on political parties | Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [Pheelo MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; New Lesotho Freedom Party or NLFP [Manapo MAJARA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD] | NA |
Population | 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) | 2,125,262
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 3.84% (2001 est.) | 0.144% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 345,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge (1999) note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way |
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Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.674 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system international: NA |
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 per 100 persons; rural services are scant international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,578 (2000) | 48,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 249,800 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 45% (2002) |
Waterways | none | - |