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Compare Lesotho (2004) - Sierra Leone (2008)
Compare Lesotho (2004) z Sierra Leone (2008)
| Lesotho (2004) | Sierra Leone (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, 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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 10 (2007) |
| 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
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| 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. | Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption. |
| Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Maseru | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 402 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
| Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $1.61 billion (2003 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 Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| Disputes - international | none | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $343.4 million (2005 est.) |
| 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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. |
| Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 227.9 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 245 million kWh (2005) |
| 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: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing |
| 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003) |
| 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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 431.1 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
| Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) |
| 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 light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 6.8% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
| Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
| 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%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 8,864 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
| 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: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 1% (2002 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-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 300 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 1.369 million (1981 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: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| 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 law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| 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: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
| 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) | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.5 million (2003) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2003) | 2.3% (2006) |
| 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, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 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] | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | trade unions and student unions |
| 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.) |
6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | 70.2% (2004) |
| Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 2.292% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
| 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: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: marginal telephone service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 24,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 113,200 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | NA% |
| Waterways | - | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |
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