Lesotho (2002) | Antigua and Barbuda (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 9,647/female 9,306)
15-64 years: 69% (male 24,137/female 23,801) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 965/female 1,625) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock |
Airports | 28 (2001) | 3 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442.6 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. | The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. |
Birth rate | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | name: Saint John's
geographic coordinates: 17 07 N, 61 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 153 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 1 November 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $715 million (2001 est.) | $359.8 million (June 2006) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. 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 Deborah Mae LOVELL
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5122 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) | $7.23 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of 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 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. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. | Antigua has a relatively high GDP per capita in comparison to most other Caribbean nations. It has experienced solid growth since 2003, driven by a construction boom in hotels and housing that which should wind down in 2008. Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals. Since taking office in 2004, the SPENCER government has adopted an ambitious fiscal reform program, but will continue to be saddled by its debt burden with a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 100%. |
Electricity - consumption | 100 million kWh (2000) | 97.65 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) | 105 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 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 | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly |
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Louisse LAKE-TACK (since 17 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 177.7 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) | Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2006) |
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 | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 22% services: 74.3% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 3.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 17 03 N, 61 48 W |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor |
Highways | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center |
Imports | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 4,215 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) | US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2006) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 1 November 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) |
Infant mortality rate | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction); member Caribbean Court of Justice |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 30,000 (1991) |
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: 7%
industry: 11% services: 82% (1983) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 18.18%
permanent crops: 4.55% other: 77.27% (2005) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English (official), local dialects |
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 |
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 (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17 seats; members appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP 4, UPP 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.42 years
male: 70.03 years female: 74.94 years (2007 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 has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 85.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1,059 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,158,597 GRT/10,757,767 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 46, cargo 612, carrier 4, chemical tanker 6, container 350, liquefied gas 11, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 20 foreign-owned: 1,021 (Australia 1, Colombia 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 15, Estonia 15, France 1, Germany 891, Greece 3, Iceland 9, Latvia 9, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 6, Netherlands 19, Norway 7, NZ 2, Poland 2, Russia 5, Slovenia 6, Sweden 1, Switzerland 5, Turkey 7, UK 4, US 8, Vietnam 1) (2007) |
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; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; 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] | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbudans for a Better Barbuda [Ordrick SAMUEL]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; Barbuda People's Movement for Change [Arthur NIBBS]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, Progressive Labor Movement or PLM, United National Democratic Party or UNDP) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] |
Population | 2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
69,481 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.33% (2002 est.) | 0.527% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA (2002) | - |
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% | Anglican 25.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Roman Catholic 10.4%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census) |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.594 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 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; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-268; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 40,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 102,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
Total fertility rate | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 11% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |