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Compare European Union (2005) - Lesotho (2003)
Compare European Union (2005) z Lesotho (2003)
| European Union (2005) | Lesotho (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.03% (male 37,608,010/female 35,632,351)
15-64 years: 67.17% (male 154,439,536/female 152,479,619) 65 years and over: 16.81% (male 31,515,921/female 45,277,821) (2005 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 | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 3,130 (2004 est.) | 28 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1,834 | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,296 | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total: 3,976,372 sq km | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | less than one-half the size of the US | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it become the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gave member states two years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 that rejected the constitution suspended the ratification effort. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by all member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
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 | 10 births/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | - | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
| Capital | Brussels, Belgium
note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, the European Parliament meets in Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
Maseru |
| Climate | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 65,413.9 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 caused a suspension of the ratification process | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | - | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
| Death rate | 10.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $735 million (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat/Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
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 John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
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 | the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries; it has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 13 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; the Schengen agreements ("acquis") became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; member states are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 eventually are expected to participate in Schengen, following a transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $41.5 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. Twelve EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new member states may choose to adopt the euro when they meet the EU's fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. | 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 | 2.661 trillion kWh (2002 est.) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 270.8 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 268.5 billion kWh (2002 est.) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 2.888 trillion kWh (2002 est.) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
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 | euros per US dollar - 0.81 (2004), 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000) | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
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 | 5.322 million bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
| Exports - partners | US 22.9%, Switzerland 6.9%, China 4.1%, Japan 4% | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | NA | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed | 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 - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | - | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | - | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Heliports | 94 (2004) | - |
| Highways | total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
| Imports | 15.69 million bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
| Imports - partners | US 15.1%, China 9.7%, Japan 6.7%, Switzerland 5.6% | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) |
| Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
| Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2005 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) | 2.1% (2004 est.) | 10% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
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 | 115,807 sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | 215 million (various) | 838,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 4.5%, industry 27.4%, services 66.9%
note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2004) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
| Land boundaries | total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
| Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed; Irish (Gaelic) will become the twenty-first language on 1 January 2007 | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | - | 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 | Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
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: 78.3 years
male: 75.1 years female: 81.6 years (July 2005 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: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Europe between Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, southeastern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Europe | Africa |
| Maritime claims | NA | none (landlocked) |
| Military - note | In November 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating thirteen 1,500-man "battle groups" by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK are to form the first three battle groups in 2005, with Spain to follow. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden, and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonian forces. The remaining groups are to be formed by 2007.
(2005) |
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; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | - | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
| Net migration rate | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] | 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 |
| Population | 456,953,258 (July 2005 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 | See individual country listings | 49% (1999) |
| Population growth rate | 0.15% (July 2005 est.) | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
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 | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 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 | note - see individual country entries of member states | 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 | 238,763,162 (2002) | 22,200 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,644,700 (2002) | 21,600 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of individual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.47 children born/woman (July 2005 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.5% (2004 est.) | 45% (2002) |
| Waterways | 53,512 km | none |
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