Lesotho (2003) | Vanuatu (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba |
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: 33.3% (male 35,039/female 33,553)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 66,311/female 63,502) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 3,878/female 3,471) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 30 (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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Connecticut |
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 British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. |
Birth rate | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 23.06 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues: $52.6 million
expenditures: $54.3 million, including capital expenditures of $700,000 (2003 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Port-Vila (Efate) |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,528 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 30 July 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $83.7 million (2002) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu |
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 |
Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN |
Disputes - international | none | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $27.5 million (2002) |
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. | This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 2004, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 45.03 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 48.42 million kWh (2002) |
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: Tabwemasana 1,877 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 | a majority of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; deforestation |
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: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% (1999 Census) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) | vatu per US dollar - 111.79 (2004), 122.19 (2003), 139.2 (2002), 145.31 (2001), 137.64 (2000) |
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 Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004); Prime Minister Serge VOHOR ousted in no-confidence vote on 11 December 2004 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008) election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee |
Exports - partners | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) | Thailand 47%, Malaysia 18.4%, Japan 7.5%, Belgium 5.4%, China 4.9% (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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
agriculture: 26%
industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 16 00 S, 167 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999 est.) |
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 |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) | Taiwan 24%, Australia 16.5%, Japan 11.4%, Singapore 8.5%, New Zealand 7.2%, Fiji 6.3%, US 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning |
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: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2002 est.) | 3.1% (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, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
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 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (2000 est.) |
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: 2.46%
permanent crops: 7.38% other: 90.16% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census) |
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 | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems |
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 (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 8, VP 8, NUP 10, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 62.49 years
male: 61 years female: 64.05 years (2005 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: 74% male: NA% female: NA% (1999 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
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: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,192,474 GRT/1,560,828 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 16, container 1, liquefied gas 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 52 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Israel 1, Japan 25, New Zealand 1, Poland 11, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, United States 1) registered in other countries: 1 (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 | no regular military forces; security forces comprise the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), which includes Vanuatu's naval force, known as the Police Maritime Wing (PMW); border security in Vanuatu is the joint responsibility of the Customs and Inland Revenue Service, VPF, VMF, and PMW (2003) |
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) | Independence Day, 30 July (1980) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | manganese, hardwood forests, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [leader NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Vanuatu Greens Party or VGP [Moana CARCASSES] |
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.) |
205,754 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2003 est.) | 1.52% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
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% | Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census) |
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: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,200 (2000) | 6,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,600 (2000) | 7,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |