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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2001) - Lesotho (2001)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2001) z Lesotho (2001)

 Guinea-Bissau (2001)Lesotho (2001)
 Guinea-BissauLesotho
Administrative divisions 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure 0-14 years:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536)

15-64 years:
55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889)

65 years and over:
2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (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 rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports 29 (2000 est.) 29 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
3

over 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 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:
26

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
21 (2000 est.)
total:
25

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
21 (2000 est.)
Area total:
36,120 sq km

land:
28,000 sq km

water:
8,120 sq km
total:
30,355 sq km

land:
30,355 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut slightly smaller than Maryland
Background In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. 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 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$NA

expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues:
$76 million

expenditures:
$80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.)
Capital Bissau Maseru
Climate tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline 350 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 2 April 1993
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Guinea-Bissau

conventional short form:
Guinea-Bissau

local long form:
Republica da Guine-Bissau

local short form:
Guine-Bissau

former:
Portuguese Guinea
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form:
Lesotho

former:
Basutoland
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
Death rate 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $964 million (1998 est.) $720 million (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta 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 Mario LOPES DA ROSA

chancery:
Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone:
[1] (202) 347-3950

FAX:
[1] (202) 347-3954
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 $115.4 million (1995) $123.7 million (1995)
Economy - overview One of the 20 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2000. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. 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 51.2 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 55 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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

highest point:
Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing 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, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Ethnic groups African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373 (1996)

note:
as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro
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 Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000)

head of government:
Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001)

cabinet:
NA

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature

election results:
Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%
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 $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998)
Exports - partners India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia 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 - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
54%

industry:
15%

services:
31% (1997 est.)
agriculture:
18%

industry:
38%

services:
44% (1999)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7.6% (2000 est.) 2.5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 00 N, 15 00 W 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note - landlocked; surrounded by South Africa
Highways total:
4,400 km

paved:
453 km

unpaved:
3,947 km (1996)
total:
4,955 km

paved:
887 km

unpaved:
4,068 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.5%

highest 10%:
42.4% (1991)
lowest 10%:
0.9%

highest 10%:
43.4% (1986-87)
Imports $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995)
Imports - partners Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998)
Independence 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) 4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 2.6% (1997 est.) 15.5% (1999 est.)
Industries agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Infant mortality rate 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3% (2000 est.) 6% (2000 est.)
International organization participation ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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) 1 (2000) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 17 sq km (1993 est.) 30 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Labor force 480,000 700,000 economically active
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 78% 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Land boundaries total:
724 km

border countries:
Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
total:
909 km

border countries:
South Africa 909 km
Land use arable land:
11%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
38%

forests and woodland:
38%

other:
12% (1993 est.)
arable land:
11%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
66%

forests and woodland:
0%

other:
23% (1993 est.)
Languages Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system NA 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 National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)

elections:
last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates
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:
49.42 years

male:
47.12 years

female:
51.78 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:
53.9%

male:
67.1%

female:
40.7% (1997 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
83%

male:
72%

female:
93% (1999 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references Africa 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 People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $8 million (FY96) $34 million (1999)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY96) NA%
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 24 September (1973) Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality noun:
Guinean (s)

adjective:
Guinean
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective:
Basotho
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires periodic droughts
Natural resources fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Net migration rate -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Political parties and leaders African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] 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 1,315,822 (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 50% (1991 est.) 49.2% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate 2.23% (2001 est.) 1.49% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim none
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios 49,000 (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 indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.81 male(s)/female

total population:
0.94 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:
small system

domestic:
combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications

international:
NA
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 8,000 (1997) 20,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 1,262 (1996)
Television broadcast stations 2 (1997) 1 (2000)
Terrain mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 45% (2000 est.)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping none
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