Compare Lesotho (2004) - Ghana (2005)

Compare Lesotho (2004) z Ghana (2005)

	Lesotho (2004)	Ghana (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western
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: 37.1% (male 3,946,326/female 3,862,390) 15-64 years: 59.1% (male 6,203,035/female 6,235,107) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 366,472/female 416,523) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Airports	28 (2003 est.)	12 (2004 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: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 239,460 sq km land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly smaller than Oregon
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.	Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.
Birth rate	26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	23.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $625.4 million expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $2.17 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	Maseru	Accra
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	539 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	approved 28 April 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast
Currency	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)	-
Death rate	24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	10.84 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$735 million (2002)	$7.396 billion (2004 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 Mary Carlin YATES embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813
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 Alan J. KYEREMATEN chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	none	Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Economic aid - donor	ODA $4.4 million	-
Economic aid - recipient	$41.5 million (2000)	$6.9 billion (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.	Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 34% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002. Priorities include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2004. Inflation should ease, but remain a major internal problem.
Electricity - consumption	40 million kWh (2001)	6.137 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	500 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	200 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	6.922 billion 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 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	recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)	cedis per US dollar - 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001), 5,455.1 (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 John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.7%
Exports	NA (2001)	NA
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
Exports - partners	US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)	Mexico 69.8%, Netherlands 3.7%, UK 3% (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	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band
GDP	purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 15.3% industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003)	agriculture: 34.3% industry: 24.2% services: 41.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2003 est.)	5.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	8 00 N, 2 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake
Highways	total: 5,940 km paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999)	total: 46,176 km paved: 8,496 km unpaved: 37,679 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4%	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)
Illicit drugs	-	illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Imports	NA (2001)	NA
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)	capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)	Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	6 March 1957 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	3.8% (2000 est.)
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism	mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building
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: 51.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 54.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2003 est.)	13% (2004 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	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court	Supreme Court
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	10.24 million (2004 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 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	total: 2,094 km border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001)	arable land: 16.26% permanent crops: 9.67% other: 74.07% (2001)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
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 and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats in last election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 92, other 10
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)	total population: 58.47 years male: 57.7 years female: 59.26 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: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,086 GRT/26,185 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 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; with Army and Air Wing)	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$32.5 million (2003)	$49.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2003)	0.6% (2004)
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, 6 March (1957)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals	gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone
Net migration rate	-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 74 km (2004)
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]	Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary]
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.)	21,029,853 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	31.4% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate	0.14% (2004 est.)	1.25% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	Takoradi, Tema
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 953 km narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 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: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: country code - 233; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use	28,600 (2002)	302,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	92,000 (2002)	799,900 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	10 (2001)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
Total fertility rate	3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	20% (1997 est.)
Waterways	-	1,293 km note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2003)

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