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Compare Lesotho (2002) - Trinidad and Tobago (2003)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Trinidad and Tobago (2003)

 Lesotho (2002)Trinidad and Tobago (2003)
 LesothoTrinidad and Tobago
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1 ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*, Tobago**, Victoria
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: 22.2% (male 125,470; female 119,270)


15-64 years: 70% (male 402,137; female 370,600)


65 years and over: 7.9% (male 38,928; female 47,804) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry
Airports 28 (2001) 6 (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


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 5,128 sq km


land: 5,128 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Delaware
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. The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean, thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues: $1.54 billion


expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998)
Capital Maseru Port-of-Spain
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; rainy season (June to December)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 362 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 1 August 1976
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago


conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)
Death rate 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 8.71 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $2.8 billion (2002 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 Roy L. AUSTIN


embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain


mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain


telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176


FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462
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 Marina Annette VALERE (as of February 2003)


chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490


FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130


consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) $24 million (1999 est.)
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. Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer the past four years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by solid growth in the oil sector, offset in part by domestic political uncertainty.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 4.943 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) 5.315 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 99.8%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0.2% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


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


highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 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 water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2%
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 Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.24 (2002), 6.23 (2001), 6.3 (2000), 6.3 (1999), 6.3 (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 George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)


head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament


elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives


election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43%
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 and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) US 56.9%, Jamaica 7.3%, France 4.4% (2002)
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 red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $11.07 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture: 1.6%


industry: 43.2%


services: 55.2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 3.2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 11 00 N, 61 00 W
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt
Highways total: 4,955 km


paved: 887 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
total: 8,320 km


paved: 4,252 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1%


highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis
Imports $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) US 42%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.5%, UK 5%, Japan 4.5%, Brazil 4.3% (2002)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 31 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) 2.6% (2002 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 26.93 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 22.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) 4.3% (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, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 17 (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 of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London
Labor force 700,000 economically active 564,000 (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 construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 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: 14.62%


permanent crops: 9.16%


other: 76.22% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese
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; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; 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 Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007)


election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16


note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 69.59 years


male: 67.07 years


female: 72.23 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: 98.6%


male: 99.1%


female: 98% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) measured from claimed archipelagic baselines


contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,032 GRT/5,106 DWT


ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 1


note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: US 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. -
Military branches Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $90 million (1999)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 1.4% (1999)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 327,823 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 233,488 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 31 August (1962)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)


adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian
Natural hazards periodic droughts outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -10.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2003)
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] National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR]
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.)
1,104,209 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) 21% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) -0.68% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors none Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 2, FM 12, 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)
minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; common carrier railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7%
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female


total population: 1.05 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: excellent international service; good local service


domestic: NA


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana
Telephones - main lines in use 22,200 (2000) 252,000 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 17,411 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 4 (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.78 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) 10.8% (2002)
Waterways none none
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