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Compare Lesotho (2004) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Lesotho (2004) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Lesotho (2004) | British Virgin Islands (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 3 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| 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. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| Capital | Maseru | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 80 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 13 June 2007 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $NA |
| 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. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 45 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 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 | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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 |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
| 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
| 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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| 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: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 2% (2005) |
| 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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| 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 | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 12,770 (2004) |
| 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: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English (official) |
| 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 | English 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 House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| 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 | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing) | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.5 million (2003) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2003) | - |
| 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) | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| 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.) |
23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 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: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 3.6% (1997) |
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