Lesotho (2001) | Cayman Islands (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western |
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:
22.21% (male 3,807; female 4,084) 15-64 years: 69.74% (male 12,102; female 12,676) 65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,318; female 1,540) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 times the size of 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. | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
Capital | Maseru | George Town |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 160 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Caymanian dollar (KYD) |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $70 million (1996) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $NA |
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. | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1997, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million visitors in 1997. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 306.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 330 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% 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: The Bluff 43 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 | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment |
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 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% |
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 | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) |
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); Governor and President of the Executive Council Peter SMITH (since 5 May 1999) head of government: Kurt TIBBETTS (since November 2000) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.5 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | mostly US |
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 the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $930 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 19 30 N, 80 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | important location between Cuba and Central America |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
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 | - | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe |
Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $507.6 million (1998) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | foodstuffs, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 3% (1998) |
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), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 19,820 (1995) |
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 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) |
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:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English |
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 | British common law and local statutes |
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 Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 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 has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
106 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,656,452 GRT/2,643,036 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 5, chemical tanker 27, container 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Denmark 2, Finland 1, Greece 11, Norway 3, UK 3, US 3 (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. | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) |
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) | Constitution Day, first Monday in July |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | hurricanes (July to November) |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US |
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] | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team; Democratic Alliance; Team Cayman |
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.) |
35,527 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.12% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Cayman Brac, George Town |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 104,000 (1997) | 36,000 (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% | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant |
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:
0.86 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 19,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 2,534 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | NA |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 4.1% (1997) |
Waterways | none | none |