Lesotho (2002) | Djibouti (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
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:
42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859) 15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841) 65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 28 (2001) | 12 (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:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
22,000 sq km land: 21,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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 French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994 ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels. |
Birth rate | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
revenues:
$133 million expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Djibouti |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 314 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form:
Republic of Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $715 million (2001 est.) | $356 million (1999 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald YAMAMOTO embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
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 ROBLE Olhaye Oudine chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) | $106.3 million (1995) |
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 economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of 40% to 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the US dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. |
Electricity - consumption | 100 million kWh (2000) | 167.4 million 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) | 180 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% 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:
Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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%, | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
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 | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) |
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 GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999); head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed Dilleita (since 4 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president; percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) | Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 22% services: 75% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland |
Highways | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total:
2,890 km paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $440 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) | France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling |
Infant mortality rate | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 2% (2000 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 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 or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 282,000 |
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 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total:
508 km border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic 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 |
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
51.21 years male: 49.37 years female: 53.1 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: 46.2% male: 60.3% female: 32.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (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. | - |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $23 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.5% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
108,038 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
63,589 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun:
Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 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] | Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy or MUD |
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.) |
460,700 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.33% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA (2002) | 52,000 (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:
100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003 |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
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:
telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country domestic: microwave radio relay network international: submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 203 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |