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Compare Lesotho (2002) - Equatorial Guinea (2008)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Equatorial Guinea (2008)

 Lesotho (2002)Equatorial Guinea (2008)
 LesothoEquatorial Guinea
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
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: 41.5% (male 114,816/female 113,688)


15-64 years: 54.8% (male 145,740/female 156,097)


65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,957/female 11,903) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber
Airports 28 (2001) 5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
total: 5


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 28,051 sq km


land: 28,051 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Maryland
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. Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 35.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues: $4.849 billion


expenditures: $2.481 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Maseru name: Malabo


geographic coordinates: 3 45 N, 8 47 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 296 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea


conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea


local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee equatoriale


local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee equatoriale


former: Spanish Guinea
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) -
Death rate 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 15.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $288 million (31 December 2007 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 C. JOHNSON


embassy: adjacent to the golf course at the base of Mont Febe; note - relocated embassy is opened for limited functions; inquiries should continue to be directed to the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon


mailing address: B.P. 817, Yaounde, Cameroon; US Embassy Yaounde, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520


telephone: [237] 220 15 00


FAX: [237] 220 16 20
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 Purificacion ANGUE ONDO


chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700


FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252
Disputes - international none in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation; UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) $39 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. The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Government officials and their family members own most businesses. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2007, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the fourth highest per capita income in the world, after Luxembourg, Bermuda, and Jersey.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 26.04 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) 28 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 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 tap water is not potable; 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 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 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
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 Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)


head of government: Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 14 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud
Exports $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) 371,700 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) China 30.9%, US 22.2%, Spain 12.6%, Taiwan 10.6%, Portugal 6.1% (2006)
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 three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture: 2.8%


industry: 92.5%


services: 4.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 12.7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 2 00 N, 10 00 E
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level insular and continental regions widely separated
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%
Imports $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) 1,026 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products petroleum sector equipment, other equipment
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) US 37.7%, Spain 9.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.9%, France 6.1%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Italy 5% (2006)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) 14.1% (2007 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 87.15 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 93.17 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 80.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) 5.5% (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 ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO (observer)
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 Supreme Tribunal
Labor force 700,000 economically active NA
Labor force - by occupation 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa -
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
total: 539 km


border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Land use arable land: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
arable land: 4.63%


permanent crops: 3.57%


other: 91.8% (2005)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 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 partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
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 House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, CPDS 2


note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 49.51 years


male: 48.11 years


female: 50.95 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 can read and write


total population: 85.7%


male: 93.3%


female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,745 GRT/3,434 DWT


by type: cargo 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 National Guard (Guardia Nacional (Army), with Coast Guard (Navy) and Air Wing) (2008)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 0.1% (2006 est.)
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, 12 October (1968)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)


adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Natural hazards periodic droughts violent windstorms, flash floods
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - condensate 42 km; condensate/gas 5 km; gas 80 km; oil 54 km (2007)
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] Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MICO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Avelino MOCACHE]; Popular Union or UP
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.)
551,201 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) 2.015% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors none -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2001)
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% nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
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: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.934 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.752 male(s)/female


total population: 0.957 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: digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and good mobile coverage


domestic: fixed-line density is about 2 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2005 stood at about 20 percent of the population


international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 22,200 (2000) 10,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 96,900 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 1 (2001)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 4.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) 30% (1998 est.)
Waterways none -
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