Lesotho (2002) | United Arab Emirates (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn |
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: 25.3% (male 331,269; female 317,977)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 1,115,826; female 707,058) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 66,404; female 24,678) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 28 (2001) | 35 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 22
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 82,880 sq km
land: 82,880 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Maine |
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 Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Zaby, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region. |
Birth rate | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
revenues: $23.68 billion
expenditures: $25.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Abu Dhabi |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | desert; cooler in eastern mountains |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,318 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996) |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States abbreviation: UAE |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $715 million (2001 est.) | $5.9 billion (2004 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 Michele SISON
embassy: Embassies District, Plot 38 Sector W59-02, Street No. 4, Abu Dhabi mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi telephone: [971] (2) 414-2200 FAX: [971] (2) 414-2469 consulate(s) general: Dubai |
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 Asri Said Ahmad al-DHAHIRI
chancery: 3522 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 243-2400 FAX: [1] (202) 243-2432 note: consulates in New York and Houston |
Disputes - international | none | because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment of the boundary with Saudi Arabia is still unknown; boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and maps showing the alignment have not been published; UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island |
Economic aid - donor | - | since its founding in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has given about $5.2 billion in aid to 56 countries (2004) |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) (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. | The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 30% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. |
Electricity - consumption | 100 million kWh (2000) | 36.51 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) | 45.12 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 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 | lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills |
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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)
note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982) |
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 | Emirati dirhams per US dollar - 3.6725 (2004), 3.6725 (2003), 3.6725 (2002), 3.6725 (2001), 3.6725 (2000)
note: officially pegged to the US dollar since February 2002 |
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 Sheikh KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 3 November 2004), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 4 November 2004) and Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai)
head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990); Deputy Prime Minister HAMDAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the seven emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets four times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power elections: president and vice president elected by the Federal Supreme Council (composed of rulers of the seven emirates) for five-year terms; election last held 3 November 2004 upon the death of the UAE's Founding Father and first President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (next to be held 2009); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Sheikh KHALIFA bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan elected president by a unanimous vote of the FSC; MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum unanimously reaffirmed vice president |
Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals | crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) | Japan 24.9%, South Korea 9.9%, India 5.4%, Thailand 5.2% (2004) |
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 equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 58.5% services: 37.5% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 5.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 24 00 N, 54 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 along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total: 1,088 km
paved: 1,088 km (including 253 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 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 | - | the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to southwest Asian drug producing countries; the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering; anti-money-laundering controls improving |
Imports | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) | China 10%, India 9.8%, Japan 6.8%, Germany 6.5%, UK 6.2%, France 6.1%, US 6% (2004) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 2 December 1971 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | 4% (2000) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | petroleum, fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 14.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 3.2% (2004 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, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 720 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | 2.36 million
note: 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 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 7%, industry 15%, services 78% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 867 km
border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 2.25% other: 97.15% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu |
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 | federal court system introduced in 1971; applies to all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah, which are not fully integrated into the federal system; all emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes |
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 Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms)
elections: none note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.24 years
male: 72.73 years female: 77.87 years (2005 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: 77.9% male: 76.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 578,477 GRT/739,823 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 5, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 21, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: 14 (Greece 2, Kuwait 6) registered in other countries: 200 (2005) |
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 | Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $1.6 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.1% (FY00) |
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, 2 December (1971) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Emirati(s)
adjective: Emirati |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | frequent sand and dust storms |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | petroleum, natural gas |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 469 km; gas 2,655 km; liquid petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,936 km; oil/gas/water 5 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 | 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.) |
2,563,212
note: includes an estimated 1,606,079 non-nationals; the 17 December 1995 census presents a total population figure of 2,377,453, and there are estimates of 3.44 million for 2002 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.33% (2002 est.) | 1.54% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Sharjan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004) |
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% | Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4% |
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: 1.58 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.691 male(s)/female total population: 1.442 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none |
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 fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable international: country code - 971; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 1,135,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 2,972,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 15 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 2.4% (2001) |
Waterways | none | - |