Compare Lesotho (2004) - Eritrea (2004)

Compare Lesotho (2004) z Eritrea (2004)

	Lesotho (2004)	Eritrea (2004)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri
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: 44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Airports	28 (2003 est.)	18 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly larger than Pennsylvania
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.	Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections.
Birth rate	26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $625.4 million expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $235.7 million expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.)
Capital	Maseru	Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Currency	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)	nakfa (ERN)
Death rate	24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$735 million (2002)	$311 million (2000 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 Scott H. DELISI embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
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 GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)
Disputes - international	none	Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) continues to monitor a 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999
Economic aid - donor	ODA $4.4 million	-
Economic aid - recipient	$41.5 million (2000)	$77 million (1999)
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.	Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.
Electricity - consumption	40 million kWh (2001)	205.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh NA kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	0 kWh NA kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	220.5 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 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	deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
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, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)	nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999)
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 ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports - partners	US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)	Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003)
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	red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
GDP	purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 15.3% industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003)	agriculture: 12.4% industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2003 est.)	2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	15 00 N, 39 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
Highways	total: 5,940 km paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)	total: 4,010 km paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 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 (2001)
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)	machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)	US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (2003)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	NA
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism	food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles
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: 75.59 deaths/1,000 live births male: 83.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2003 est.)	12.3% (2003)
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	ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	220 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court	High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	NA (1999)
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 80%, industry and services 20%
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001)	arable land: 4.95% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
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	primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia 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 Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)	total population: 52.7 years male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.)	definition: NA total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 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; with Army and Air Wing)	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$32.5 million (2003)	$77.9 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2003)	11.8% (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.)	NA (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	frequent droughts; locust swarms
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Net migration rate	-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2004 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]	People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]
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.)	4,447,307 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	53% (1993/94)
Population growth rate	0.14% (2004 est.)	2.57% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Railways	-	total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 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: inadequate domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
Telephones - main lines in use	28,600 (2002)	38,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	92,000 (2002)	NA
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	1 (2000)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Total fertility rate	3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)	5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	NA (2003 est.)

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