Lesotho (2004) | Korea, South (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi* |
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:
21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918) 15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380) 65 years and over: 7.27% (male 1,352,312; female 2,131,105) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 102 (2000 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:
68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Indiana |
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. | After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula at the 38th parallel known as the DMZ. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to 13 times the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifeling committment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize. |
Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
Capital | Maseru | Seoul |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,413 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 25 February 1988 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form:
Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han-guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | South Korean won (KRW) |
Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $137 billion (November 2000) |
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 (vacant) embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
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 YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan |
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. | As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the country's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 232.767 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 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 | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
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:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,271.89 (January 2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997), 804.45 (1996) |
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 KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish |
Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (1999) |
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 a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | - |
Heliports | - | 203 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 17% (2000) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing |
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.) |
7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 2.3% (2000) |
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 | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 13,350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 22 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total:
238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
arable land:
19% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 65% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
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 | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
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 or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 years (2001 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: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait |
Merchant marine | - | total:
496 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,421,993 GRT/8,757,034 DWT ships by type: bulk 105, cargo 168, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5, container 49, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 70, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 5 (2000 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, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.5 million (2003) | $12 billion (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2003) | 3.2% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
14,148,552 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 455 km; note - additionally, there is a parallel petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) pipeline being completed |
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] | Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
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.) |
47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 0.89% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 47.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% |
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:
1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 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:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 24 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 27 million (June 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 4.1% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |