Lesotho (2003) | Oman (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi*, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar (Dhofar)* |
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: 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 137 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
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 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. | The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. |
Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues: $13.07 billion
expenditures: $11.62 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | name: Muscat
geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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) | - |
Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $3.465 billion (2006 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 Gary A. GRAPPO
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-643-400 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
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 Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI
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 reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $30.68 million (2005) |
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. | Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006 and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign labor, the government is encouraging the replacement of foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 8.661 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 11.89 billion kWh (2005) |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (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: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); 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 (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | NA (2001) | 733,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | China 23.6%, South Korea 17.9%, Japan 10.9%, Thailand 10.7%, South Africa 7.7%, UAE 6.3% (2006) |
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 - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 39.1% services: 58.6% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 6.6% (2006 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 | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | UAE 22.4%, Japan 16.5%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 5.9% (2006 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber |
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.) |
total: 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
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 | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 720 sq km (2003) |
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 Shari'a law |
Labor force | 838,000 | 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% (2005) |
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 Majlis al-Dawla (or upper chamber) (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura (or lower chamber)(84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.62 years
male: 71.37 years female: 75.99 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 81.4% male: 86.8% female: 73.5% (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 (1000 GRT or over) 12,155 GRT/7,244 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
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: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 11.4% (2005 est.) |
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) | 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 | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,072 km; oil 3,405 km (2006) |
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 | 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.) |
3,204,897
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 3.234% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
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%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25% |
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: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.419 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.238 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote |
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), 1 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 278,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 1.818 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south |
Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 15% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |