Guyana (2005) | Lesotho (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.4% (male 103,054/female 99,279)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 263,953/female 260,000) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,801/female 22,196) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish, shrimp | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 49 (2004 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 41
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Idaho | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001. | 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. |
Birth rate | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $287.6 million
expenditures: $371.6 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Georgetown | Maseru |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 459 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 6 October 1980 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2002) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roland BULLEN
embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] 225-4900 through 4909 FAX: [592] 225-8497 |
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 Bayney KARRAN
chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. 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 | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks UNCLOS arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-02, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. Growth then slowed in 2003 and came back gradually in 2004, buoyed largely by increased export earnings. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of 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 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. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 751.4 million kWh (2002) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 808 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation | 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
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 | East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 198.33 (2004), 193.88 (2003), 190.67 (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); 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 Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN
head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since December 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
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 | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | Canada 23.2%, US 19.2%, UK 10.9%, Portugal 9%, Belgium 6.4%, Jamaica 5.2% (2004) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green | 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 - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.3%
industry: 19.9% services: 41.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 5 00 N, 59 00 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.) |
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%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | NA | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Trinidad and Tobago 24.8%, US 24.5%, Cuba 6.8%, UK 5.4% (2004) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 26 May 1966 (from UK) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.1% (1997 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2004 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 418,000 (2001 est.) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 97.41% (2001) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 Assembly (68 seats, 65 elected by popular vote, 1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2 nonvoting members appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1 |
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: 65.5 years
male: 62.86 years female: 68.28 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT
by type: cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2005) |
- |
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 | Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps, Guyana People's Militia | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6.5 million (2003) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2004) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | -7.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO]; Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE] | 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 | Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized |
NA |
Population | 765,283
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.) |
2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2005 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
Railways | total: 187 km
standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.) |
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 | Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fair system for long-distance service
domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 80,400 (2002) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 87,300 (2002) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (understated) (2000) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004) |
none |