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Compare Lesotho (2004) - Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003)

Compare Lesotho (2004) z Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003)

 Lesotho (2004)Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003)
 LesothoCocos (Keeling) Islands
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka none (territory of Australia)
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: NA%


15-64 years: NA%


65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Airports 28 (2003 est.) 1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
-
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 14 sq km


land: 14 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland about 24 times the size of The Mall in 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. There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William Keeling discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island.
Birth rate 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $625.4 million


expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital Maseru West Island
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 26 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands


conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Australian dollar (AUD)
Death rate 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $735 million (2002) $NA
Dependency status - territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
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 (territory of Australia)
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 (territory of Australia)
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. Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry.
Electricity - consumption 40 million kWh (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) -
Electricity - production 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
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: unnamed location 5 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 fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs
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%, Europeans, Cocos Malays
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general


head of government: Administrator (nonresident) William Leonard TAYLOR (since 4 February 1999)


cabinet: NA


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports NA (2001) $NA
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) copra
Exports - partners US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) Australia (1999)
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 the flag of Australia is used
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 15.3%


industry: 43.3%


services: 41.4% (2003)
agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2003 est.) NA%
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 12 30 S, 96 50 E
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation
Highways total: 5,940 km


paved: 1,087 km


unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)
total: 15 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (2003)
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) foodstuffs
Imports - partners Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) Australia (1999)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999) NA%
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism copra products and tourism
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: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.1% (2003 est.) NA%
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 none
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 2 (2000)
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) NA sq km
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force 838,000 (2000) 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 the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others
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: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Malay (Cocos dialect), 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 upon the laws of Australia and local laws
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 Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
Life expectancy at birth total population: 36.81 years


male: 36.81 years


female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)
total population: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 84.8%


male: 74.5%


female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
-
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka
Map references Africa Southeast Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - none (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 defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force
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) NA
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Cocos Islander(s)


adjective: Cocos Islander
Natural hazards periodic droughts cyclone season is October to April
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals fish
Net migration rate -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] none
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
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.)
630 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999) NA%
Population growth rate 0.14% (2004 est.) 0% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors none none; lagoon anchorage only
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000)
Railways - 0 km
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)
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.)
-
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal NA
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: connected within Australia's telecommunication system


domestic: NA


international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type (2002)
Telephones - main lines in use 28,600 (2002) 287 (1992)
Telephones - mobile cellular 92,000 (2002) NA
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) NA
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains flat, low-lying coral atolls
Total fertility rate 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) NA children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2002) 60% (2000 est.)
Waterways - none
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