Lesotho (2004) | Guernsey (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
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: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 2 (one on Alderney) (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: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about one-half 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. | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. |
Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
Capital | Maseru | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 50 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
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 (British crown dependency) |
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 (British crown dependency) |
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. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | NA kWh |
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: unnamed location on Sark 114 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 | NA |
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%, | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
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 Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (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 | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
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% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | tourism, banking |
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: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 4.9% (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 | 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 | Royal Court |
Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 32,290 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | - |
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: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
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 and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 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: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 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) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | cropland |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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; all independents |
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.) |
65,409 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 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: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 55,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |