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Compare Lesotho (2004) - Solomon Islands (2003)
Compare Lesotho (2004) z Solomon Islands (2003)
| Lesotho (2004) | Solomon Islands (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul (Lauru), Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell/Bellona, Temotu, 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: 42.9% (male 111,333; female 107,062)
15-64 years: 54% (male 139,072; female 135,721) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,754; female 8,248) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
| Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 32 (2002) |
| 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
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| 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 UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. |
| Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 32.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $38 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
| Capital | Maseru | Honiara |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 5,313 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 7 July 1978 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
| Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
| Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $137 million (2001 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
| 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 Colin BECK
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $28 million mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ (2001 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. | The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. |
| Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 29.76 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 32 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 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; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
| 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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), NA (2001), 5.09 (2000), 4.84 (1999), 4.82 (1998) |
| 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 Governor General Sir John LAPLI (since NA 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | Japan 21.2%, China 18.8%, South Korea 16.3%, Philippines 8.9%, Thailand 7.6%, Singapore 4.1% (2002) |
| 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 | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | -10% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 8 00 S, 159 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 location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea |
| Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 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) | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | Australia 31.3%, Singapore 19.7%, New Zealand 5.1%, Fiji 4.6%, Papua New Guinea 4.5% (2002) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
| 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: 22.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 1.8% (2001 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, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 26,842 |
| 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 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) |
| 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: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.64% other: 97.86% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous 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 | English common law, which is widely disregarded |
| 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 Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held not later than December 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 72.1 years
male: 69.64 years female: 74.68 years (2003 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 | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
| Map references | Africa | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | none (2002 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) | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.5 million (2003) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2003) | NA% |
| 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, 7 July (1978) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
| Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions |
| 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.) |
509,190 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 2.83% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | - | 0 km |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 8,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 658 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 0 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
| Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | NA% |
| Waterways | - | none |
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