Lesotho (2003) | Senegal (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 11 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor |
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: 43.2% (male 2,368,011; female 2,325,298)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,803,192; female 3,025,304) 65 years and over: 3% (male 158,881; female 171,461) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 20 (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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than South Dakota |
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. | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. |
Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 35.72 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues: $1.304 billion
expenditures: $1.367 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Dakar |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 531 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.74 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $3.009 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 Alan ROTH
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
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 Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem refugees, cross border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $362.6 million (2002 est.) |
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. | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2003. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 1.412 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 1.518 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 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 | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing |
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (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: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Macky SALL (since 21 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | India 13%, France 12.2%, Mali 9.5%, Italy 8.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.4%, Spain 5% (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 equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.09 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture: 16.8%
industry: 27.2% services: 56% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 14 00 N, 14 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km including 7 km of expressways unpaved: 10,305 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | foods and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | France 24.9%, Nigeria 12.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Spain 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 2.9% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials |
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: 56.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 0% (2003 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 710 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992 |
Labor force | 838,000 | 4.62 million NA (2003) |
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 70% |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 12.78%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.01% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
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 French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 56.56 years
male: 54.94 years female: 58.23 years (2004 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: 40.2% male: 50% female: 30.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
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 |
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, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $95.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,490,290 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,301,761 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 119,833 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | fish, phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 564 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] | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers |
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.) |
10,852,147 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | 54% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 2.52% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) |
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) |
total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 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: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: country code - 221; 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 228,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 575,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.84 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2003) |