Compare Lesotho (2004) - Bangladesh (2006)

Compare Lesotho (2004) z Bangladesh (2006)

	Lesotho (2004)	Bangladesh (2006)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet
Age structure	0-14 years: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815) 15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Airports	28 (2003 est.)	16 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly smaller than Iowa
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.	Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.
Birth rate	26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $625.4 million expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Maseru	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	580 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan
Currency	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)	-
Death rate	24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$735 million (2002)	$20.63 billion (2005 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 Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744
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 Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Disputes - international	none	discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources
Economic aid - donor	ODA $4.4 million	-
Economic aid - recipient	$41.5 million (2000)	$1.575 billion (2000 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.	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.
Electricity - consumption	40 million kWh (2001)	16.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	17.42 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 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	many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)	taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)
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 Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA
Exports	NA (2001)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)
Exports - partners	US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)	US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
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 large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh
GDP	purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 15.3% industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003)	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2003 est.)	6.4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	24 00 N, 90 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal
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%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)
Illicit drugs	-	transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries
Imports	NA (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)	India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	6.7% (2005 est.)
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
Infant mortality rate	total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2003 est.)	7% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	47,250 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 (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	66.6 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2005 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: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001)	arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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
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 Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)	total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 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: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Map references	Africa	Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
Merchant marine	-	total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)
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; with Army and Air Wing)	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$32.5 million (2003)	$1.01 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2003)	1.8% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
Net migration rate	-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,604 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]	Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	1,865,040 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 2004 est.)	147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	45% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	0.14% (2004 est.)	2.09% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)
Railways	-	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 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: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	28,600 (2002)	1.07 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	92,000 (2002)	9 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	15 (1999)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
Total fertility rate	3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)
Waterways	-	8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)

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