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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Niger (2006)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z Niger (2006)
| Lesotho (2001) | Niger (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
| 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: 46.9% (male 2,994,022/female 2,882,273)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 3,262,114/female 3,083,522) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 150,982/female 152,181) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 28 (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: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| 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. | Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999 BARE was killed in a coup by military officers who promptly restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 50.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million; including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.91 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $2.1 billion (2003 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 Bernadette M. ALLEN
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 73 31 69 FAX: [227] 73 55 60 |
| 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 Aminata Maiga Djibrilla TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
| Disputes - international | none | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $453.3 million (2003) |
| 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. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. It is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 2.9% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium have undercut the economy. Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. In December 2005, it was announced that Niger had received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately $86 million USD in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigerians. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 263.9 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
50 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 230 million kWh (2003) |
| 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: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 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 | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
| 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French expatriates |
| 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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (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 Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 31 December 1999) was appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president cabinet: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | France 47.8%, Nigeria 21.4%, US 20.3% (2005) |
| 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 equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 7% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world; northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | France 14.5%, US 10.7%, French Polynesia 7.5%, Nigeria 7.4%, Italy 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, Germany 4.5%, China 4.5% (2005) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 118.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 114.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2004 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 730 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 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: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
| 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 French civil law system and customary law; 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 (113 seats; note - expanded from 83 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD 47, CDS 22, PNDS 25, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.76 years
male: 43.8 years female: 43.73 years (2006 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: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
| 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) | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $44.78 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
| 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) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | recurring droughts |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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] | Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU]; Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma'a [Sanousi JACKOU]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU]; Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA [Abdoulaye DIORI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
| 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.) |
12,525,094 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 63% (1993 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 2.92% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
| 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% | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
| 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 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: small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 299,900 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 7.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | none | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |
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