Lesotho (2003) | Turkmenistan (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dasoguz Welayaty, Labap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
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: 37.3% (male 895,536; female 853,301)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 1,350,142; female 1,399,879) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 72,784; female 117,321) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 76 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 63
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 41 (2002) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than California |
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. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out. |
Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues: $588.6 million
expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) (1999 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Ashgabat |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $2.3 billion to $5 billion (2001 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 Laura E. KENNEDY
embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
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 Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
Disputes - international | none | Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; multilaterally-accepted Caspian Sea seabed and maritime boundaries have not yet been established in the Caspian - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan await ICJ decision to resolve sovereignty dispute over oil fields in the Caspian Sea |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $16 million from the US (2001) |
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. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2001, Turkmenistan has suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports have risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 7.708 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 900 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 9.256 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification |
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, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2002-January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997) |
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 and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly on 28 December 1999); deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | Ukraine 27%, Iran 14%, Turkey 11%, Italy 9%, Switzerland 5% (1999) |
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 | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 45% services: 28% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 22,000 km
paved: 18,000 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1998) (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | Turkey 17%, Ukraine 12%, Russia 11%, UAE 8%, France 6% (1999) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
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.) |
73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 10% (2001 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 | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 18,000 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 (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 838,000 | 2.34 million (1996) (1996) |
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 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.39% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
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 civil law system |
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 |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 61.1 years
male: 57.57 years female: 64.8 years (2002 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: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,600 GRT/5,000 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 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 | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,206,920 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 979,282 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 48,292 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km |
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] | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries |
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.) |
4,688,963 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | 34% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 1.84% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Turkmenbasy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.225 million (1997) |
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: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 4,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west |
Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | NA% |
Waterways | none | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan |