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Compare Lesotho (2001) - United States (2005)
Compare Lesotho (2001) z United States (2005)
| Lesotho (2001) | United States (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
| 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: 20.6% (male 31,095,725/female 29,703,997)
15-64 years: 67% (male 98,914,382/female 99,324,126) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 15,298,676/female 21,397,228) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish |
| Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 14,857 (2004 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: 5,128
over 3,047 m: 188 2,438 to 3,047 m: 221 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,375 914 to 1,523 m: 2,383 under 914 m: 961 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 9,729
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 160 914 to 1,523 m: 1,718 under 914 m: 7,843 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 9,631,418 sq km
land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 469,495 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; almost two and a half times the size of the European Union |
| 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's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. |
| Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $1.862 trillion
expenditures: $2.338 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | Washington, DC |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 19,924 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.25 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $1.4 trillion (2001 est.) |
| Dependent areas | - | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994) |
| 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 |
- |
| 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 |
- |
| Disputes - international | none | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region strains water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico; illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, notably Haiti and the Dominican Republic, attempt to enter the US through Florida by sea; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; US and Canada seek greater cooperation in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | - |
| 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 US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. The economy suffered from a sharp increase in energy prices in the second half of 2004. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. |
| Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 3.66 trillion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 13.36 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
36.23 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 3.839 trillion kWh (2002) |
| 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: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 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 | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
| 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 | British pounds per US dollar - 0.5457 (2004), 0.6139 (2003), 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.3014 (2004), 1.4045 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000); Japanese yen per US dollar - 108.13 (2004), 116.08 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000); euros per US dollar - 0.8048 (2004), 0.8866 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.08540 (2000) |
| 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 George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0% |
| Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003) |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Canada 23%, Mexico 13.6%, Japan 6.7%, UK 4.4%, China 4.3% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
| 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 | 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 19.7% services: 79.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $40,100 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 38 00 N, 97 00 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent |
| Heliports | - | 155 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 6,393,603 km
paved: 4,180,053 km (including 74,406 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,213,550 km (2003) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
| Illicit drugs | - | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center |
| Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003) |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | Canada 17%, China 13.8%, Mexico 10.3%, Japan 8.7%, Germany 5.2% (2004) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (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 | AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 214,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 147.4 million (includes unemployed) (2004 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 | farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.7%, managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25.5%, other services 16.3%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2004) |
| Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km |
| Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.13%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 80.65% (2001) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) |
| 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 | federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| 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. |
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.71 years
male: 74.89 years female: 80.67 years (2005 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: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico |
| Map references | Africa | North America |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 486 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,436,658 GRT/14,630,116 DWT
by type: barge carrier 7, bulk carrier 19, cargo 152, chemical tanker 19, container 92, passenger 17, passenger/cargo 57, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 28, vehicle carrier 14 foreign-owned: 49 (Australia 2, Canada 8, China 1, Denmark 20, Malaysia 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Singapore 11, Sweden 1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 680 (2005) |
| 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 and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $370.7 billion (FY04 est.) (March 2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.3% (FY03 est.) (February 2004) |
| 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) | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
| Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: American(s)
adjective: American |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 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] | Democratic Party [Howard DEAN]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DAMERELL]; Republican Party [Ken MEHLMAN] |
| 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.) |
295,734,134 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 12% (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 0.92% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Corpus Christi, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Texas City
note: 13 ports north of New Orleans (South Louisiana Ports) on the Mississippi River handle 290,000,000 tons of cargo annually. |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 4,854, FM 8,950, shortwave 18 (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: 227,736 km
standard gauge: 227,736 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 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: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 181,599,900 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 158.722 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii |
| Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.08 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce)
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2004) |
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