Lesotho (2001) | Malawi (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba; note - there may be three new districts named Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe |
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:
44.43% (male 2,348,940; female 2,337,290) 15-64 years: 52.78% (male 2,741,622; female 2,825,966) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 119,283; female 175,149) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 44 (2000 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:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
118,480 sq km land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$490 million expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Lilongwe |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form:
Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $2.9 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 Roger A. MEECE embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] 773 166 FAX: [265] 770 471 |
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 Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 |
Disputes - international | none | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $427 million (1999) |
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. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 950 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 1.025 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
2.44% hydro: 97.56% 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:
junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m highest point: Sapitwa 3,002 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 | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
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 | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 80.0946 (December 2000), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997), 15.3085 (1996) |
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 Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 36-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $416 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | South Africa 16%, Germany 16%, US 15%, Netherlands 7%, Japan (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
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 black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture:
37% industry: 29% services: 34% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | landlocked |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total:
16,451 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 13,325 km (1997) |
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.) | $435 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | South Africa 43%, Zimbabwe 14%, UK 5%, Germany 5%, Zambia, Japan, US (1999) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 121.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 29.5% (2000) |
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, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 8 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 280 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 3.5 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 | agriculture 86% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total:
2,881 km border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
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 and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; 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 (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 94, MCP 66, AFORD 29, others 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
37.08 years male: 36.61 years female: 37.55 years (2001 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: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
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 (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $9.5 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.76% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,466,708 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,265,893 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun:
Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; National Independence Party; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party |
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.) |
10,548,250
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.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 54% (FY90/91 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 9, FM 4 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 104,000 (1997) | 2.6 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:
789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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 system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 7,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |