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Compare Lesotho (2002) - Madagascar (2008)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Madagascar (2008)

 Lesotho (2002)Madagascar (2008)
 LesothoMadagascar
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
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: 43.9% (male 4,297,985/female 4,243,369)


15-64 years: 53% (male 5,117,874/female 5,190,032)


65 years and over: 3.1% (male 270,411/female 329,144) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products
Airports 28 (2001) 104 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
total: 27


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 17


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 77


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 41


under 914 m: 34 (2007)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 587,040 sq km


land: 581,540 sq km


water: 5,500 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
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. Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA is now in his second term following a landslide victory in the generally free and fair presidential elections of 2006.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 38.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues: $1.22 billion


expenditures: $1.555 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Maseru name: Antananarivo


geographic coordinates: 18 55 S, 47 31 E


time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 4,828 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 19 August 1992 by national referendum
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar


conventional short form: Madagascar


local long form: Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara


local short form: Madagascar/Madagasikara


former: Malagasy Republic
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) -
Death rate 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $4.6 billion (2002)
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 R. Niels MARQUARDT


embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101


mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo


telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56


FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39
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 Jocelyn Bertin RADIFERA


chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526


FAX: [1] (202) 265-3034


consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international none claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) $929.2 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. Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank- and IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the US. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 973.2 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) 1.046 billion 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: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 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 soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island
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 Life Conservation, 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%, Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
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 Malagasy ariary per US dollar - 1,880 (2007), 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (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 Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)


head of government: Prime Minister Charles RABEMANANJARA (25 January 2007)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011); prime minister appointed by the president


election results: percent of vote - Marc RAVALOMANANA 54.8%, Jean LAHINIRIKO 11.7%, Roland RATSIRAKA 10.1%, Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO 9.1%, Norbert RATSIRAHONANA 4.2%, Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO 4.2%, Elia RAVELOMANANTSOA 2.6%, Pety RAKOTONIAINA 1.7%, other 1.6%
Exports $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) 363.9 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) France 32.1%, US 25.3%, Germany 6.1%, Italy 5%, UK 4.1% (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 two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture: 27.3%


industry: 15.8%


services: 56.8% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 6.3% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 20 00 S, 47 00 E
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel
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%: 1.9%


highest 10%: 36.6% (2001)
Illicit drugs - illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin
Imports $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) 17,830 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) France 14.5%, China 12%, Iran 9.3%, Mauritius 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.7% (2006)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 26 June 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) 6% (2007 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 57.02 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 62.09 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 51.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) 10% (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, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) 10,860 sq km (2003)
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; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle
Labor force 700,000 economically active 7.3 million (2000)
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
0 km
Land use arable land: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
arable land: 5.03%


permanent crops: 1.02%


other: 93.95% (2005)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
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 and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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 legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (127 seats - reduced from 160 seats by an April 2007 national referendum; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate or Senat (100 seats; two-thirds of the seats filled by regional assemblies; the remaining one-third of seats appointed by the president; to serve four-year terms)


elections: National Assembly - last held 23 September 2007 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TIM 106, LEADER/Fanilo 1, independents 20
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 62.14 years


male: 60.23 years


female: 64.1 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: 68.9%


male: 75.5%


female: 62.5% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m deep isobath
Merchant marine - total: 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,896 GRT/18,466 DWT


by type: cargo 5, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 (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 People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval Force (navy and air); National Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 1% (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, 26 June (1960)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)


adjective: Malagasy
Natural hazards periodic droughts periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0 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] Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO]; Democratic Party for Union in Madagascar or PSDUM [Jean LAHINIRIKO]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Party or FP [Guy-Willy RAZANAMASY]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Committee for the Defense of Truth and Justice or KMMR; Committee for National Reconciliation or CRN [Albert Zafy]; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM
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.)
19,448,815 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) 50% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) 3.008% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors none -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (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)
total: 854 km


narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
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: 1.013 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.822 male(s)/female


total population: 0.992 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: system is above average for the region; Antananarivo's main telephone exchange modernized, but the rest of the analogue-based telephone system is poorly developed; planning to add 50,000 new private-subscriber fixed lines beginning in 2005


domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density only about 7 per 100 persons


international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use 22,200 (2000) 129,800 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 1.046 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 5.24 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) -
Waterways none 600 km (2006)
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