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Compare Lesotho (2002) - Cuba (2001)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Cuba (2001)

 Lesotho (2002)Cuba (2001)
 LesothoCuba
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
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:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070)

15-64 years:
69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878)

65 years and over:
9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock
Airports 28 (2001) 171 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
total:
77

over 3,047 m:
7

2,438 to 3,047 m:
9

1,524 to 2,437 m:
16

914 to 1,523 m:
10

under 914 m:
35 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total:
94

914 to 1,523 m:
31

under 914 m:
63 (2000 est.)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total:
110,860 sq km

land:
110,860 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
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. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues:
$13.5 billion

expenditures:
$14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital Maseru Havana
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 3,735 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 24 February 1976, amended July 1992
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba

conventional short form:
Cuba

local long form:
Republica de Cuba

local short form:
Cuba
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Cuban peso (CUP)
Death rate 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000)
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
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland
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
none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518
Disputes - international none US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) $68.2 million (1997 est.)
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. The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 13.353 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 100 million kWh


note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) 14.358 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
94.2%

hydro:
0.7%

nuclear:
0%

other:
5.1% (1999)
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:
Pico Turquino 2,005 m
Environment - current issues population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation
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:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
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 Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 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 of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly

elections:
president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled)

election results:
Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%
Exports $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999)
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 five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture:
7%

industry:
37%

services:
56% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 5.6% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 21 30 N, 80 00 W
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level largest country in Caribbean
Highways total: 4,955 km


paved: 887 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
total:
60,858 km

paved:
29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway)

unpaved:
31,038 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1%


highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)
lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
Illicit drugs - territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
Imports $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 20 May 1902 (from US)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) 5% (2000 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) 0.3% (1999 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 CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 4 (2001)
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) 9,100 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)
Labor force 700,000 economically active 4.3 million (2000 est.)

note:
state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998)
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 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998)
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
total:
29 km

border countries:
US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km

note:
Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba
Land use arable land: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
arable land:
24%

permanent crops:
7%

permanent pastures:
27%

forests and woodland:
24%

other:
18% (1993 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Spanish
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 Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; 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 (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
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003)

election results:
percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population:
76.41 years

male:
74.02 years

female:
78.94 years (2001 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:
95.7%

male:
96.2%

female:
95.3% (1995 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
Merchant marine - total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 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. Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993
Military branches Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% roughly 4% (FY95 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) males age 15-49:
3,090,633

females age 15-49:
3,029,274 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) males age 15-49:
1,911,160

females age 15-49:
1,867,958 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 17 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males:
79,562

females:
85,650 (2001 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun:
Cuban(s)

adjective:
Cuban
Natural hazards periodic droughts the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Political parties and leaders Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; 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] only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
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.)
11,184,023 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) 0.37% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors none Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios NA (2002) 3.9 million (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:
11,969 km

standard gauge:
4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified)

note:
in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
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:
1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.86 male(s)/female

total population:
1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 16 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:
principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use 22,200 (2000) 473,031 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 2,994 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 58 (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) 5.5% (2000 est.)
Waterways none 240 km
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