Lesotho (2002) | New Caledonia (2003) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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: 29.7% (male 31,990; female 30,695)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 68,093; female 67,205) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,016; female 6,799) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 28 (2001) | 30 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. |
Birth rate | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Noumea |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,254 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
Death rate | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $715 million (2001 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
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 (overseas territory of France) |
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 (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) | $880 million annual subsidy from France |
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. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 100 million kWh (2000) | 1.5 billion 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) | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7% 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: Mont Panie 1,628 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 | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
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 | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (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 of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER was reelected |
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 | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) | Japan 20.6%, France 20.4%, Taiwan 16.3%, South Africa 11.3%, Spain 7.7%, South Korea 5.4%, Australia 5.4%, Italy 5.3% (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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 5 (2002) |
Highways | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
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 | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) | France 52.8%, Australia 12.7%, Singapore 9.8% (2002) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | -0.6% (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 | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
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 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 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: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
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 | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French 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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.52 years
male: 70.57 years female: 76.62 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: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (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. | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $192.3 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5.3% (FY96) |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 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] | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
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.) |
210,798 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.33% (2002 est.) | 1.38% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, 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) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 13,040 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | none | none |