Grenada (2001) | Lesotho (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Maseru |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $182.8 million (1998) | $720 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON 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 Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador 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 | $8.3 million (1995) | $123.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such 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 substantial 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.6 million kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling 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 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); 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 Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
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 | $62.3 million (2000 est.) | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | 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 - $394 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
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%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | - |
Imports | $217.5 million (2000 est.) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 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:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | 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 (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (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 Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | 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; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; 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 | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) | 2,177,062
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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2001 est.) | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 104,000 (1997) |
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 | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 1,262 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1997) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |