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Compare Kuwait (2001) - Lesotho (2006)
Compare Kuwait (2001) z Lesotho (2006)
| Kuwait (2001) | Lesotho (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.76% (male 299,080; female 288,125) 15-64 years: 68.82% (male 897,839; female 507,527) 65 years and over: 2.42% (male 31,843; female 17,547) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 28 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2006) |
| Area | total:
17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 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 | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$11.5 billion expenditures: $17.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02) |
revenues: $738.5 million
expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Kuwait | name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 499 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) | - |
| Death rate | 2.45 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $6.9 billion (2000 est.) | $735 million (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. LAROCCO embassy: Bayan, near the Bayan palace, Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
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) chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
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 | in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $4.4 million |
| Economic aid - recipient | $27.6 million (1995) | $41.5 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 75% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a $2 billion surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02, which begins 1 April, contains higher expenditures for salaries, construction, and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. | 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. However, the government has recently 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, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter 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 | 29.357 billion kWh (1999) | 363.5 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 31.567 billion kWh (1999) | 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification | 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:
Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping |
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 | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3057 (January 2001), 0.3067 (2000), 0.3044 (1999), 0.3047 (1998), 0.3033 (1997), 0.2994 (1996) | maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977) head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamud Al Sabah (since NA) and MUHAMMAD KHALID al-Hamed Al Sabah (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age |
| Exports | $23.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
| Exports - partners | Japan 23%, US 12%, Singapore 8%, Netherlands 7% (1999) | Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side | three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
0% industry: 55% services: 45% (1996) |
agriculture: 16.3%
industry: 44.3% services: 39.4% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
4,450 km paved: 3,590 km unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
| Imports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
| Imports - partners | US 15%, Japan 10%, UK 7%, Germany 7% (1999) | US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005) |
| Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
| Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000) | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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) | 3 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | 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 | 1.3 million (1998 est.)
note: 68% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
838,000 (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
industry and services: 14% |
| Land boundaries | total:
464 km border countries: Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
| Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 92% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; 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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 July 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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 by 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:
76.27 years male: 75.42 years female: 77.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 34.4 years
male: 35.55 years female: 33.21 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.6% male: 82.2% female: 74.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,461,072 GRT/3,966,645 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, container 6, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 (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 | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.9 billion (FY00/01) | $41.1 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.7% (FY00/01) | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
780,559 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
466,521 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
18,309 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun:
Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone |
| Net migration rate | 14.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; 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 Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists | NA |
| Population | 2,041,961
note: includes 1,159,913 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
2,022,331
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 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
| Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates |
-0.46% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 1.175 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Muslim 85% (Sunni 45%, Shi'a 40%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.51 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
the quality of service is excellent domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
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 | 412,000 (1997) | 48,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 210,000 (1997) | 245,100 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 3.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 1.8% (official 1996 est.) | 45% (2002) |
| Waterways | none | - |
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