Lesotho (2001) | Singapore (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none |
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: 16.5% (male 370,660; female 345,713)
15-64 years: 75.8% (male 1,611,502; female 1,687,048) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 149,452; female 189,518) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 9 (2003 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: 10
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $14.15 billion
expenditures: $15.61 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Singapore |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 193 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Singapore dollar (SGD) |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $15.06 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 Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9340 |
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 CHAN Heng Chee
chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: San Francisco consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | disputes with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation works, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years |
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. | Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a high per capita GDP. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, and global economic recovery should lead to much improved growth in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 28.35 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) | 30.48 billion kWh (2001) |
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: Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point: Bukit Timah 166 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 | industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% |
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 | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.724 (2000), 1.695 (1999) |
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 Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers Shunmugan JAYAKUMAR (since 12 August 2004) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held by August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed |
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) | machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Malaysia 15.8%, US 14.3%, Hong Kong 10%, China 7%, Japan 6.7%, Taiwan 4.7%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 4.2% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $109.4 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: negligible
industry: 32.2% services: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 1 22 N, 103 48 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 3,066 km
paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to be used as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering |
Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | Malaysia 16.8%, US 14.1%, Japan 12%, China 8.7%, Taiwan 5.1%, Thailand 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 2.8% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 2.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (2003 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 | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 2.2 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 49%, other 16% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0% other: 98.36% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official) |
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; 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 Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held not later than 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SPP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 81.53 years
male: 78.96 years female: 84.29 years (2004 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: 92.5% male: 96.6% female: 88.6% (2002) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice |
Merchant marine | - | total: 900 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 23,065,290 GRT/36,393,317 DWT
by type: bulk 136, cargo 84, chemical tanker 96, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 8, container 186, liquefied gas 41, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 2, petroleum tanker 290, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 32 foreign-owned: Australia 6, China 15, Denmark 32, Germany 18, Greece 12, Hong Kong 31, India 3, Indonesia 33, Japan 58, South Korea 13, Malaysia 31, Monaco 19, Norway 53, Papua New Guinea 1, Philippines 9, Russia 2, Slovenia 1, Sweden 12, Switzerland 5, Taiwan 44, Tanzania 1, Thailand 16, United Kingdom 15, United States 1 registered in other countries: 383 (2004 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, People's Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $4.47 billion (FY01 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,292,471 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 934,317 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 9 August (1965) |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | fish, deepwater ports |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 139 km (2004) |
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] | governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [vacant] (SDA group); Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [Desmond LIM] (SDA group); Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Malik ISMAIL] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia Lim Swee LIAN] |
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.) |
4,353,893 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 1.71% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Singapore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003) |
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% | Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: excellent service
domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: country code - 65; submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 1,896,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 3,521,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 7 (2003) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.04 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 4.8% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |