Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Lesotho (2002) - Oman (2004) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Lesotho (2002) - Oman (2004)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Oman (2004)

 Lesotho (2002)Oman (2004)
 LesothoOman
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 5 regions (manaatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhaafazaat, singular - muhaafaza) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar*
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: 42.4% (male 628,078; female 603,829)


15-64 years: 55.1% (male 955,765; female 643,687)


65 years and over: 2.5% (male 38,761; female 33,045) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish
Airports 28 (2001) 135 (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: 6


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 130


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 7


1,524 to 2,437 m: 52


914 to 1,523 m: 34


under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 212,460 sq km


land: 212,460 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Kansas
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. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 37.12 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues: $8.218 billion


expenditures: $7.766 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital Maseru Muscat
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 2,092 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman


conventional short form: Oman


local long form: Saltanat Uman


local short form: Uman


former: Muscat and Oman
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Omani rial (OMR)
Death rate 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 3.91 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $5.973 billion (2003 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 Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III


embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat


mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat


telephone: [968] 24-698989


FAX: [968] 24-699771
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 Muhammad bin Ali bin Thani al-KHUSSAIBY


chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988


FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933
Disputes - international none boundary agreement signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) $76.4 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. Oman is a small, well-off middle Eastern economy with large oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2000. In order to reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., the process of Omanization. Training in information technology, business management, and English support this objective. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 8.625 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) 9.274 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m


highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 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 rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources
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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
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 Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000), 0.3845 (1999)
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: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary
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 petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) South Korea 18.7%, China 18.5%, Japan 16.2%, Thailand 12.2%, UAE 7.8%, Iran 4.1% (2003)
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 horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $36.7 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture: 3.1%


industry: 42.1%


services: 54.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 1.1% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 21 00 N, 57 00 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 on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
Heliports - 1 (2003 est.)
Highways total: 4,955 km


paved: 887 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
total: 34,965 km


paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways)


unpaved: 25,292 km (2001)
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 transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) UAE 21.6%, Japan 17.1%, US 6.2%, UK 5.6%, Germany 4.4%, India 4.4% (2003)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) 0.2% (2003 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 23.18 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) -0.3% (2003 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 ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) 620 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


note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law
Labor force 700,000 economically active 920,000 (2002 est.)
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 NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
total: 1,374 km


border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
Land use arable land: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
arable land: 0.12%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 99.74% (2001)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian 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 based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by universal suffrage for four-year term; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)


elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 72.85 years


male: 70.66 years


female: 75.16 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 83%


male: 72%


female: 93% (1999 est.)
definition: NA


total population: 75.8%


male: 83.1%


female: 67.2% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Map references Africa Middle East
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT


by type: passenger 2


registered in other countries: 1 (2004 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 Royal Omani Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $242.07 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 11.4% (2003)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 796,792 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 443,006 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 31,274 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Omani(s)


adjective: Omani
Natural hazards periodic droughts summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines - gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004)
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] none
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
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.)
2,903,165


note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) NA
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) 3.35% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors none Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)
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% Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu
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: 1.49 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female


total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007
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 system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable


domestic: open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations


international: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Telephones - main lines in use 22,200 (2000) 233,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 464,900 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 5.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) NA
Waterways none -
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.