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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) - Lesotho (2005)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) z Lesotho (2005)

 Guinea-Bissau (2003)Lesotho (2005)
 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, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)


15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459)


15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096)


65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female 60,905) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports 28 (2002) 28 (2004 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 (2002)
total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2004 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. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. 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 intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.
Birth rate 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 26.53 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $698.5 million


expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2004 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 -
Death rate 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 25.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $941.5 million (2000 est.) $735 million (2002)
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; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY


embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)


mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho


telephone: [266] 22 312666


FAX: [266] 22 310116
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA


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


telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950


FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954
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 separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau none
Economic aid - donor - ODA $4.4 million
Economic aid - recipient $115.4 million (1995) $41.5 million (2000)
Economy - overview One of the 10 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 1999-2002. 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. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003. 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 garment industry has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF.
Electricity - consumption 51.15 million kWh (2001) 308 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - production 55 million kWh (2001) 314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
-
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
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 - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)


note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)
Executive branch chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003


head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003)


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: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%


note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government
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) NA
Exports - commodities cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) US 97%, Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004)
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 - $901.4 million (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 15.2%


industry: 43.9%


services: 40.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -4.3% (2002 est.) 3.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 00 N, 15 00 W 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Highways total: 4,400 km


paved: 453 km


unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.)
total: 5,940 km


paved: 1,087 km


unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.5%


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


highest 10%: 43.4%
Imports NA (2001) NA
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)
Imports - partners Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) Hong Kong 46.8%, China 25.5%, South Korea 5.6%, Germany 4.8% (2004)
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)
Industries agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 79.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2002 est.) 5.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ACP, AfDB, AU, C, The Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 2 (2002) -
Irrigated land 170 sq km (1998 est.) 10 sq km (1998 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 acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Labor force 480,000 838,000 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 82% (2000 est.) 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: 10.67%


permanent crops: 1.78%


other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2001)
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); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003


elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 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 (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 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: 46.97 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.91 years (2003 est.)
total population: 34.47 years


male: 35.49 years


female: 33.42 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 84.8%


male: 74.5%


female: 94.5% (2003 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 (2002 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): Army and Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5.6 million (FY02) $32.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY02) 2.3% (2004)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 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, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Net migration rate -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) 1,867,035


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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 49% (1999)
Population growth rate 2.02% (2003 est.) 0.08% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways 0 km -
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: 0.77 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 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 modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing


international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 10,000 (2001) 28,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (2001) 92,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations NA (1997) 1 (2000)
Terrain mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) 3.35 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 45% (2002)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping -
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