Compare Lesotho (2004) - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002)

Compare Lesotho (2004) z South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002)

	Lesotho (2004)	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	-
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.)	-
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	-
Airports	28 (2003 est.)	none (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)	-
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: 3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly larger than Rhode Island
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 islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 NM to 200 NM around each island.
Birth rate	26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $625.4 million expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.)	-
Capital	Maseru	-
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	NA km
Constitution	2 April 1993	adopted 3 October 1985
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none
Currency	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)	-
Death rate	24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Debt - external	$735 million (2002)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base
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 (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)
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 (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)
Disputes - international	none	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands occupied briefly by Argentina in 1982; islands continue to be claimed by Argentina
Economic aid - donor	ODA $4.4 million	-
Economic aid - recipient	$41.5 million (2000)	-
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.	Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly.
Electricity - consumption	40 million kWh (2001)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - imports	40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	-
Electricity - production	0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)	NA kWh
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
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 Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 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%,	-
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)	-
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	-
Exports	NA (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	-
Exports - partners	US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003)	-
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	-
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	the flag of the UK is used
GDP	purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 15.3% industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2003 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	54 30 S, 37 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 21st century, live on South Georgia
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%	-
Imports	NA (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)	-
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003)	-
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	-
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism	-
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.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2003 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	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court	-
Labor force	838,000 (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	-
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: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (1998 est.)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	-
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	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates 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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 36.81 years male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America
Map references	Africa	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 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, 14 June (1982)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	-
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals	fish
Net migration rate	-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	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.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	-
Population growth rate	0.14% (2004 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	none	Grytviken
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	0 (2003)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	-
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.)	-
Suffrage	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: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken
Telephones - main lines in use	28,600 (2002)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	92,000 (2002)	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	0 (2003)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes
Total fertility rate	3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	-
Waterways	-	none

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