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Compare Lesotho (2002) - Northern Mariana Islands (2004)
Compare Lesotho (2002) z Northern Mariana Islands (2004)
| Lesotho (2002) | Northern Mariana Islands (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
| 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: 20.3% (male 8,286; female 7,625)
15-64 years: 78.1% (male 25,579; female 35,534) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 603; female 625) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
| Airports | 28 (2001) | 6 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| 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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
| Birth rate | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | Saipan |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,482 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $715 million (2001 est.) | NA |
| Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
| 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 |
- |
| 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 |
- |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) | extensive funding from US |
| 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 benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
| Electricity - consumption | 100 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh |
| Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
0 kWh |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) | NA kWh |
| 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: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 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 | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
| 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%, | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean |
| 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 | the US dollar is used |
| 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
| Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals | garments |
| Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) | US (2000) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
| 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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 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 in the North Pacific Ocean |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
| 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 |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) | US, Japan (2000) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
| Infant mortality rate | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 1.2% (1997 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 | Interpol (subbureau) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 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 | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
| Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) |
| Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | NA |
| 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: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2001) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
| 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 US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
| 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 the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.67 years
male: 73.11 years female: 78.38 years (2004 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: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
| Map references | Africa | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | none |
| 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 the US |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
| 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) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | arable land, fish |
| Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
| 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.) |
78,252 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 1.33% (2002 est.) | 2.71% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Saipan, Tinian |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (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) |
- |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
| 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.72 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.79 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
| 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: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 21,000 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 3,000 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
| Total fertility rate | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.33 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | NA |
| Waterways | none | - |
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