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Compare Lesotho (2003) - Marshall Islands (2001)
Compare Lesotho (2003) z Marshall Islands (2001)
| Lesotho (2003) | Marshall Islands (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
49.29% (male 17,808; female 17,101) 15-64 years: 48.61% (male 17,573; female 16,853) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 707; female 780) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens |
| Airports | 28 (2002) | 16 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total:
12 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
181.3 sq km land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about 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. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947 and 1962. |
| Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 45.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$80.1 million expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (FY95/96 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | Majuro |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | wet season from May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 370.4 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 1 May 1979 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Marshall Islands conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $125 million (FY96/97 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 Joan M. PLAISTED embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Banny DE BRUM chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
| Disputes - international | none | claims US territory of Wake Island |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | approximately $65 million annually from the US |
| Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US provides roughly $65 million in annual aid. Negotiations were underway in 1999 for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, and the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties caused GDP to fall in 1996-98. |
| Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | - |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | - |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
| 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 Likiep 10 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water |
| 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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Micronesian |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | 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 Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | $28 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | fish, coconut oil, trochus shells |
| Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | US, Japan, Australia |
| 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 two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $105 million (1998 est.), supplemented by approximately $65 million annual US aid |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 13% services: 72% (1995) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,670 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | -5% (1998 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 9 00 N, 168 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range |
| Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $58 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Guam, Singapore |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls, offshore banking (embryonic) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
39.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 5% (1997) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 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 | Supreme Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 838,000 | NA |
| 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 |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 60% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 40% |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese |
| 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 adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
| 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 Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
65.84 years male: 64.04 years female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 100% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea |
| Map references | Africa | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,768,406 GRT/16,242,699 DWT ships by type: bulk 63, cargo 9, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 29, liquefied gas 10, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 87, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Germany 1, Japan 1, US 6 (2000 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 the US |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police | no regular military forces (a coast guard may be established); Police Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun:
Marshallese (singular and plural) adjective: Marshallese |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | occasional typhoons |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals |
| Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 1,861,959
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 2003 est.) |
70,822 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 3.88% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Majuro |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | - | NA |
| 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% | Christian (mostly Protestant) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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:
telex services domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 3,000 (1996) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 365 (1996) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 3 (of which two are US military stations) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | low coral limestone and sand islands |
| Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.55 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 16% (1991 est.) |
| Waterways | none | none |
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