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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Belize (2007)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z Belize (2007)
| Lesotho (2001) | Belize (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
| 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: 38.9% (male 58,459/female 56,183)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 85,686/female 83,717) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,979/female 5,361) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 44 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
| 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. | Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $302.6 million
expenditures: $324.9 million (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 386 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 21 September 1981 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) |
| 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: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER
embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District mailing address: 3050 Belize Place, Washington DC 20521-3050 telephone: [501] 822-4011 FAX: [501] 822-4012 |
| 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN
chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
| Disputes - international | none | annual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; Honduras claims Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays in its constitution but agreed to a joint ecological park under the Differendum |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $NA (2005) |
| 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. | In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by exports of marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 4% in 1999-2006. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. The government in 2006 announced it would seek a restructuring of its sovereign debt and has been negotiating with international creditors to find an acceptable formula for doing so. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 162.8 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 175 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| 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: Victoria Peak 1,160 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 | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal |
| 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
| 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 | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002) |
| 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 ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Vildo MARIN (since 5 June 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 1,960 bbl/day (2006) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
| 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 a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 14.8% services: 62.6% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
| 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 | - | transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 4.6% (1999) |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2006 est.) |
| 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 113,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census) |
| 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 | English law |
| 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. |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - number of seats will increase to 31 next election
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.25 years
male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 261 ships (1000 GRT or over) 940,852 GRT/1,275,111 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 36, cargo 190, chemical tanker 5, container 5, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 217 (China 107, Croatia 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 1, Hong Kong 5, Iceland 1, Italy 4, Japan 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 14, Norway 3, Peru 1, Philippines 1, Russia 39, Singapore 3, Spain 2, Turkey 11, Ukraine 10, UAE 4, US 3) (2007) |
| 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 | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2006) |
| 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) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | National Alliance for Belizean Rights or NABR; National Reform Party or NRP [Cornelius DUECK]; People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW]; Vision Inspired by the People or VIP [Paul MORGAN]; We the People Reform Movement [Hipolito BAUTISTA] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Gustavo PERERA]; Association of Concerned Belizeans or ACB [David VASQUEZ]; National Trade Union Congress of Belize or NTUC/B [Rene GOMEZ] |
| 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.) |
294,385 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 33.5% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.258% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) |
| Radios | 104,000 (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) |
- |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4% (2000) |
| 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: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.929 male(s)/female total population: 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 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: above-average system; fixed-line teledensity of 12 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 40 per 100 persons
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 33,900 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 118,300 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 5 (2006) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 9.4% (2006) |
| Waterways | none | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) |
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