Compare Lesotho (2002) - Fiji (2003)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Fiji (2003)

	Lesotho (2002)	Fiji (2003)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	4 divisions and 1 dependency; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma, Western
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: 32% (male 141,979; female 136,378) 15-64 years: 64.1% (male 278,759; female 278,150) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 15,329; female 17,936) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish
Airports	28 (2001)	27 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002)	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002)	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 18 (2002)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly smaller than New Jersey
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.	Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government and gave a mandate to the government of Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE.
Birth rate	30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	23.06 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million	revenues: $427.9 million expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital	Maseru	Suva
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	1,129 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji
Currency	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)	Fijian dollar (FJD)
Death rate	16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	5.7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$715 million (2001 est.)	$135.9 million (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	chief of mission: Ambassador David L. LYON embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081
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 Anare JALE chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	$123.7 million (1995) (1995)	$40.3 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.	Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget.
Electricity - consumption	100 million kWh (2000)	483.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	100 million kWh note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)	520.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 18.5% hydro: 81.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 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	deforestation; soil erosion
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)
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	Fijian dollars per US dollar - 2.19 (2002), 2.28 (2001), 2.13 (2000), 1.97 (1999), 1.99 (1998)
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 Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since NA 2000); Vice President Jope SENILOLI (since NA 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament; note - there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs, which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chief system elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA%
Exports	$250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals	sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil
Exports - partners	South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999)	US 25.1%, Australia 19.5%, UK 10.6%, Japan 6.3%, Samoa 5.5% (2002)
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	light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove
GDP	purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $4.822 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 18% industry: 38% services: 44% (2001)	agriculture: 17% industry: 25% services: 58% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.6% (2001 est.)	4.6% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	18 00 S, 175 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited
Highways	total: 4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)	total: 3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.)
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.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products	manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals
Imports - partners	South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999)	Australia 37.3%, New Zealand 17.2%, Singapore 16.1%, Japan 4.2%, China 4% (2002)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	10 October 1970 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999 est.)	NA%
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism	tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries
Infant mortality rate	82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.9% (2001 est.)	2% (2002 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, AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	2 (2000)
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	30 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 (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts
Labor force	700,000 economically active	137,000 (1999)
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, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.)
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: 10.95% permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (1998 est.)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	English (official), Fijian, Hindustani
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 British system
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 (34 seats; 24 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the president, and one appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September, 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - FLP 34.8%, SDL 26%, NFP 10.1%, MV 9.9%, independents 2.7%, other 16.5%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 47 years male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)	total population: 68.88 years male: 66.43 years female: 71.44 years (2003 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: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references	Africa	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,870 GRT/14,787 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Singapore 4 (2002 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	Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), includes ground forces, naval division
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$34 million (1999)	$39.21 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	2.2% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 235,546 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 129,432 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 9,359 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	cyclonic storms can occur from November to January
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals	timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower
Net migration rate	-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-3.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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]	Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or MV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDRHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES]
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.)	868,531 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999 est.)	25.5% (1990-91)
Population growth rate	1.33% (2002 est.)	1.41% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 13, FM 40, 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)	total: 597 km narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to September) (2002)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2% note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986)
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 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: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center domestic: NA international: access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	22,200 (2000)	80,901 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular	21,600 (2000)	5,200 (1997)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	NA
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly mountains of volcanic origin
Total fertility rate	4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)	2.81 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2000 est.)	7.6% (1999)
Waterways	none	203 km note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges

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