Guam (2004) | Lesotho (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,577; female 23,850)
15-64 years: 64% (male 54,220; female 52,026) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,912; female 5,505) (2004 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 | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2003 est.) | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. | 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 | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | Maseru |
Climate | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2003 est.) | $720 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | 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 | none (territory of the US) | 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 | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) | $123.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. | 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 | 771.9 million kWh (2001) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 830 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | 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: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
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) | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
Exports - partners | Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003) | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag | 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 - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: 885 km
paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
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) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
Imports - partners | Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4% (2003) | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | 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) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 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: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | 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 | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 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: 78.12 years
male: 75.08 years female: 81.34 years (2004 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | 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; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 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 | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben) PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA] | 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 | 166,090 (July 2004 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 | 23% (2001 est.) | 49.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2004 est.) | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 104,000 (1997) |
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 | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 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; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
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 | 84,134 (2001) | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,600 (2001) | 1,262 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |