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Compare Lesotho (2001) - French Guiana (2002)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z French Guiana (2002)
| Lesotho (2001) | French Guiana (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (overseas department of France) |
| 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: 30.2% (male 28,140; female 26,876)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 63,183; female 53,902) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,192; female 5,040) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 11 (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: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Indiana |
| 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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) (1996) |
| Capital | Maseru | Cayenne |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) (1988) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 department of France) |
| 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 department of France) |
| Disputes - international | none | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
| 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. | The economy is tied closely to the French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
| 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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%, | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
| 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 | Euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
| 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $155 million f.o.b. (1997) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997) |
| 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 | the flag of France is used |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 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 - $6,000 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 1,817 km
paved: 817 km unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
| 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 | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $625 million c.i.f. (1997) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 13.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (1992) (1992) |
| 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 | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 58,800 (1997) (1997) |
| Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | services, government, and commerce 61%, industry 21%, agriculture 18% (1980) |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French |
| 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 | French legal system |
| 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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.49 years
male: 73.16 years female: 79.99 years (2002 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: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Map references | Africa | South America |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | none (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 France |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 50,504 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 32,720 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.78 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] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| 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.) |
182,333 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.57% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Radios | 104,000 (1997) | 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) |
0 km |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Roman Catholic |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 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: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 47,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 21.4% (1998) (1998) |
| Waterways | none | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |
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