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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Aruba (2002)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z Aruba (2002)
| Lesotho (2001) | Aruba (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 21% (male 7,635; female 7,169)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 23,270; female 24,906) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 3,081; female 4,380) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | aloes; livestock; fish |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 1 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
| Background | 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. | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $135.81 million
expenditures: $147 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
| Capital | Maseru | Oranjestad |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 68.5 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 1 January 1986 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Aruba |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Aruban guilder/florin (AWG) |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $285 million (1996) |
| Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
chief of mission: Consul General Deborah A. BOLTON
embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996 |
| Economy - overview | 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. | Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and low unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. The government's goal of balancing the budget within two years will hamper expenditures, as will the decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the 11 September terrorist attacks. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 418.5 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 450 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m |
| Environment - current issues | 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 | NA |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% |
| Exchange rates | 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 | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986) |
| Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30 October 2001); deputy prime minister NA cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by December 2005) election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.58 billion f.o.b. (including oil reexports) (2000) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (1999) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | 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 | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.94 billion (1999 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2000) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 12 30 N, 69 58 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 800 km
paved: 513 km unpaved: 287 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.61 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 4% (2000) |
| International organization participation | 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 | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 0.01 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch) |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 41,501 |
| Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.53% (including aloe 0.01%)
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.47% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish |
| Legal system | 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 | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
| Legislative branch | 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. |
unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 52.4%, AVP 26.7%, PPA 9.6%, OLA 5.7%, Aliansa 3.5%, other 2.1%; seats by party - MEP 12, AVP 6, PPA 2, OLA 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.67 years
male: 75.32 years female: 82.19 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | note: there is one foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Monaco 1 (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. | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Flag Day, 18 March |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Aruban(s)
adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | NEGL; white sandy beaches |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | 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] | Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Alliance or Aliansa [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Jan (Henny) H. EMAN]; Concentration for the Liberation of Aruba or CLA [leader NA]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [Urbana LOPEZ]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 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.) |
70,441 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 0.59% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 104,000 (1997) | 50,000 (1997) |
| Railways | total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
0 km |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish |
| Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: more than adequate international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 33,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 3,402 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 0.6% |
| Waterways | none | none |
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