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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Jamaica (2002)

Compare Lesotho (2001) z Jamaica (2002)

 Lesotho (2001)Jamaica (2002)
 LesothoJamaica
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
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: 29.1% (male 399,249; female 380,864)


15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433; female 859,174)


65 years and over: 6.8% (male 81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk
Airports 29 (2000 est.) 35 (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: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 5 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
25

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
21 (2000 est.)
total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (2002)
Area total:
30,355 sq km

land:
30,355 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 10,991 sq km


land: 10,831 sq km


water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Connecticut
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. Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Birth rate 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$76 million

expenditures:
$80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.)
revenues: $2.23 billion


expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million
Capital Maseru Kingston
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 1,022 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 6 August 1962
Country name conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form:
Lesotho

former:
Basutoland
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Jamaica
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Death rate 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $720 million (2000 est.) $5.2 billion (2001 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 Sue McCourt COBB


embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859


FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743
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 Seymour MULLINGS


chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660


FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081


consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) $102.7 million (1995) (1995)
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, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.
Electricity - consumption 55 million kWh (1999) 6.27 billion 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) 6.74 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
0%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 89%


hydro: 3%


nuclear: 0%


other: 7% (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: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
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 Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 47.277 (December 2001), 45.996 (2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)


head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993)


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 on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999)
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 diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
18%

industry:
38%

services:
44% (1999)
agriculture: 7%


industry: 28%


services: 65% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2000 est.) 1.1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography - note landlocked; surrounded by South Africa strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Highways total:
4,955 km

paved:
887 km

unpaved:
4,068 km (1996)
total: 19,000 km


paved: 13,433 km


unpaved: 5,567 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.9%

highest 10%:
43.4% (1986-87)
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 29% (1996) (1996)
Illicit drugs - major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) -2% (2000 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products
Infant mortality rate 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6% (2000 est.) 6.9% (2001 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, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 21 (2000)
Irrigated land 30 sq km (1993 est.) 250 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force 700,000 economically active 1.13 million (1998) (1998)
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 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998)
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: 16.07%


permanent crops: 9.23%


other: 74.7% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa English, patois 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 based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth total population:
48.84 years

male:
47.97 years

female:
49.74 years (2001 est.)
total population: 75.64 years


male: 73.65 years


female: 77.73 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 has ever attended school


total population: 85%


male: 80.8%


female: 89.1% (1995 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) measured from claimed archipelagic baselines


contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT


ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, United States 2 (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. -
Military branches Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $30 million (FY95/96 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% NA%
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 27,729 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962)
Nationality noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective:
Basotho
noun: Jamaican(s)


adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards periodic droughts hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - petroleum products 10 km
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] Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
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.)
2,680,029 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 49.2% (1999 est.) 34% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate 1.49% (2001 est.) 0.56% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors none Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios 104,000 (1997) 1.215 million (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)
total: 272 km


standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2000)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7%
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 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female


total population: 1 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network


domestic: NA


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use 20,000 (1997) 353,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1,262 (1996) 54,640 (1996)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 7 (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) 16% (2000 est.)
Waterways none none
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