Lesotho (2001) | Montenegro (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevia, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgornica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 5 (2006) |
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
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 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. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries it was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocratic state ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and, at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. Following a three-year postponement, Montenegro held an independence referendum in the spring of 2006 under rules set by the EU. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded the 55% threshold, allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2004) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Maseru | name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 293.5 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | NA |
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 |
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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 Miodrag VLAHOVIC |
Disputes - international | none | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro |
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. | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | NA |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
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Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 2.864 billion kWh 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 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 | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% |
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 | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (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: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 10 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $171.3 million (2003) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | - |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2003) |
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 | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: % NA
industry: % NA services: % NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 42 30 N, 19 18 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
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Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $601.7 million (2003) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | - |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2003) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro); note - a referendum on independence was held 21 May 2006 |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | - |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2004) |
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 | CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, ICFTU, ILO, Interpol, IPU, ITU, OSCE, UN, UPU, WHO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 259,100 (2004) |
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: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004) |
Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect - official), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
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 civil law system |
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 Assembly (81 seats, elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats at the time of the elections)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Coalition for a European Montenegro 41, SNS 12, Coalition SPP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Democratic League-Democratic Prosperity 1, Democratic Union of Albanians 1, Albanian Alternative 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
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Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | NA |
Merchant marine | - | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 4 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2006) |
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. | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $2.306 billion |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | National Day, 13 July |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
Net migration rate | -0.63 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] | Albanian Alternative or AA; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for a European Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS and Social Democratic Party or SDP) [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Coalition SPP/NS/DSS; Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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.) |
630,548 (2004) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 12.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2004) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | 31 (2004) |
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: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2005) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
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.) |
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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: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); two international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 177,663 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 543,220 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 27.7% (2005) |
Waterways | none | - |