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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Korea, North (2003)

Compare Lesotho (2001) z Korea, North (2003)

 Lesotho (2001)Korea, North (2003)
 LesothoKorea, North
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special cities* (si, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Najin Sonbong-si*, Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (Pyongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province)
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: 25% (male 2,845,727; female 2,763,800)


15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,485,310; female 7,746,603)


65 years and over: 7.2% (male 541,155; female 1,083,886) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 29 (2000 est.) 72 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total:
4

over 3,047 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
1

under 914 m:
2 (2000 est.)
total: 34


over 3,047 m: 5


2,438 to 3,047 m: 18


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
25

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
21 (2000 est.)
total: 38


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 18


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 7 (2002)
Area total:
30,355 sq km

land:
30,355 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Mississippi
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. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western-oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement that shut down its nuclear reactors and expelled UN monitors, further raising fears it would produce nuclear weapons.
Birth rate 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 17.61 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues:
$76 million

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


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital Maseru Pyongyang
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 2,495 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
Country name conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form:
Lesotho

former:
Basutoland
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: none


note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country


abbreviation: DPRK
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) North Korean won (KPW)
Death rate 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $720 million (2000 est.) $12 billion (1996 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
none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
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; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international none with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) $NA; note - nearly $300 million in food aid alone from US, South Korea, Japan, and EU in 2001 plus much additional aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations
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. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land; collective farming; weather-related problems, including major drought in 2000; and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Recently, the regime has placed emphasis on earning hard currency, developing information technology, addressing power shortages, and attracting foreign aid, but in no way at the expense of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing widespread market-oriented reforms. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue have held down the flow of desperately needed food aid and have threatened fuel aid as well.
Electricity - consumption 55 million kWh (1999) 27.91 billion 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) 30.01 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
0%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 29%


hydro: 71%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

highest point:
Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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 water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
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 official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001)
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: KIM Chong-il (since NA July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, KIM Chong-il was reelected Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority"; KIM Yong-nam was reelected President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium and given the responsibility of representing the state and receiving diplomatic credentials


head of government: Premier PAK Pong-chu (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom-ki (since 5 September 1998), CHON Sung-hun (since 3 September 2003), NO Tu-chol (since 3 September 2003)


cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly


elections: premier elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA)


election results: HONG Song-nam elected premier; percent of Supreme People's Assembly vote - NA%
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) minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) China 23.5%, Japan 19.9%, Costa Rica 12.4%, Brazil 6.5% (2002)
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 three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $22.26 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
18%

industry:
38%

services:
44% (1999)
agriculture: 30.4%


industry: 32.3%


services: 37.3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2000 est.) 1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; surrounded by South Africa strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Highways total:
4,955 km

paved:
887 km

unpaved:
4,068 km (1996)
total: 31,200 km


paved: 1,997 km


unpaved: 29,203 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) petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) China 24.9%, Brazil 12.1%, India 9.2%, Thailand 9.2%, Germany 7.8%, Japan 7.1%, Singapore 4.5%, Qatar 4% (2002)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) NA%
Industries food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 25.66 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 27.45 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 23.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6% (2000 est.) NA%
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 ARF (dialogue partner), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 30 sq km (1993 est.) 14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 700,000 economically active 9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
Land boundaries total:
909 km

border countries:
South Africa 909 km
total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land:
11%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
66%

forests and woodland:
0%

other:
23% (1993 est.)
arable land: 14.12%


permanent crops: 2.49%


other: 83.39% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Korean
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 German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; 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.
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population:
48.84 years

male:
47.97 years

female:
49.74 years (2001 est.)
total population: 70.79 years


male: 68.1 years


female: 73.61 years (2003 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 Korean


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Africa Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


note: military boundary line 50 NM in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Merchant marine - total: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 881,276 GRT/1,309,547 DWT


ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 120, combination bulk 2, container 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 4, short-sea passenger 2


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 2, Pakistan 1, Singapore 1 (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) Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 33.9% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 6,103,615 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 3,654,223 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 180,875 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective:
Basotho
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards periodic droughts late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - oil 136 km (2003)
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] Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong-tae, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, general secretary]
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.)
22,466,481 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 49.2% (1999 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 1.49% (2001 est.) 1.07% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors none Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)
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)
total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 4,549 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
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: 0.5 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 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 stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 20,000 (1997) 1.1 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1,262 (1996) NA
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 38 (1999)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.25 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) NA%
Waterways none 2,253 km


note: mostly navigable by small craft only
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