Lesotho (2001) | Kiribati (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
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: 39.3% (male 20,087; female 19,566)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 28,523; female 29,280) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,434; female 1,908) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 20 (2003 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: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | four 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 Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Tarawa |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $10 million (1999 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
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 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) |
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. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 6.51 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 7 million kWh (2001) |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 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 pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
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 | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999) |
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 Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Japan 75%, Australia 8.3%, US 8.3%, Philippines 4.2%, Thailand 4.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
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 upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | Australia 41.7%, Fiji 26.7%, New Zealand 8.9%, Japan 5.9%, US 4% (2003) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 49.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (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, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (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 | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 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 | - |
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: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
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 | NA |
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 House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: new legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.32 years
male: 58.34 years female: 64.44 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger 1 (2004 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. | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
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.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
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.) |
100,798 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
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 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.24 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) |