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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Kuwait (2003)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z Kuwait (2003)
| Lesotho (2001) | Kuwait (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli |
| 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: 27.9% (male 310,008; female 298,474)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 970,282; female 547,753) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 36,306; female 20,338) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | practically no crops; fish |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 6 (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: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| 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. | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.83 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $11 billion
expenditures: $17.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 02/03) |
| Capital | Maseru | Kuwait |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 499 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Kuwaiti dinar (KD) |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.45 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $10.4 billion (2000 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 Richard H. JONES
embassy: Bayan, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307, ext. 2240 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
| 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 Sheikh SALIM al-Abdallah Jabir Al Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
| Disputes - international | none | the Kuwait 1994 land and Khawr 'Abd Allah channel boundary demarcation ended Iraqi claims to Kuwait and Bubiyan and Warbah islands; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are negotiating maritime boundary with Iran |
| 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. | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 98 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. Oil production declined by an estimated 8% in 2002 but is expected to return to the 2001 level in 2003. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 29.29 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) | 31.49 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% 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: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 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 | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification |
| 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: Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
| 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 | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3 (2002), 0.31 (2001), 0.31 (2000), 0.3 (1999), 0.3 (1998) |
| 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: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
head of government: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister NAWWAF al-Ahmad Al Sabah (since 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamad Al Sabah (since 2001) and Muhammad Dayfallah al-SHARAR (since 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
| 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) | oil and refined products, fertilizers |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Japan 24.4%, South Korea 12.9%, US 11.9%, Singapore 10.1%, Taiwan 7%, Netherlands 4.5%, Pakistan 4.4% (2002) |
| 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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $36.85 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 60%
industry: 39.7% services: 0.3% (2000) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | -2% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 29 30 N, 45 45 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf |
| Heliports | - | 3 (2002) |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 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) | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | US 13.1%, Japan 11.1%, Germany 9.7%, Saudi Arabia 6.6%, UK 6%, Italy 5.4%, France 5.2% (2002) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 19 June 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | -5% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 10.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 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 | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 60 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | High Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 1.3 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. (1998 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 | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.34%
permanent crops: 0.06% other: 99.6% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
| 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 | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; 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 National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, and independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.65 years
male: 75.72 years female: 77.62 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
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
| Map references | Africa | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,273,628 GRT/3,638,645 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Monaco 1, Saudi Arabia 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) | Army, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $1,967.3 million (FY01)
note: Kuwait is changing its fiscal year; the above figure is for July-March 2001; future budget years will be April-March annually |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5.5% (FY01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 845,026 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 508,399 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 18,885 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | National Day, 25 February (1950) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 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] | none; formation of political parties is illegal |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists |
| 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.) |
2,183,161
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 3.34%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| 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) |
0 km |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% |
| 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
| 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: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 412,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 210,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.08 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | none | none |
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