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Compare Lesotho (2006) - Tuvalu (2005)

Compare Lesotho (2006) z Tuvalu (2005)

 Lesotho (2006)Tuvalu (2005)
 LesothoTuvalu
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka none
Age structure 0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527)


15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846)


65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 30.8% (male 1,823/female 1,756)


15-64 years: 64.2% (male 3,620/female 3,847)


65 years and over: 5.1% (male 229/female 361) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock coconuts; fish
Airports 28 (2006) 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


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 (2006)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 26 sq km


land: 26 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Background Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.
Birth rate 24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $738.5 million


expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
revenues: $22.5 million


expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
Capital name: Maseru


geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 24 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 1 October 1978
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


local short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Tuvalu


former: Ellice Islands


note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands
Death rate 28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $735 million (2002) NA
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY


embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)


mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho


telephone: [266] 22 312666


FAX: [266] 22 310116
the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu
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
Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - donor ODA, $4.4 million -
Economic aid - recipient $41.5 million (2000) $13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 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. However, the government has recently 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, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. 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. Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.
Electricity - consumption 363.5 million kWh (2003) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) -
Electricity - imports 38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) -
Electricity - production 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003) -
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: unnamed location 5 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 since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)
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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005)


head of government: Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister


elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006)


election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 October 2004
Exports NA bbl/day $1 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) copra, fish
Exports - partners Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005) Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 16.3%


industry: 44.3%


services: 39.4% (2005 est.)
agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.2% (2005 est.) 3% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 8 00 S, 178 00 E
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon
Highways - total: 8 km


paved: 0 km


unpaved: 8 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 bbl/day $79 million c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005) Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 1 October 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999) NA%
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism fishing, tourism, copra
Infant mortality rate total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total: 20.03 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 22.9 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.7% (2005 est.) 5% (2000 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, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) NA
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)
Labor force 838,000 (2000) 7,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa


industry and services: 14%
people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
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% (2005)
arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (2001)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Legal system based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations NA
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 by 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 or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15
Life expectancy at birth total population: 34.4 years


male: 35.55 years


female: 33.21 years (2006 est.)
total population: 68.01 years


male: 65.79 years


female: 70.33 years (2005 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, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Map references Africa Oceania
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT


by type: cargo 20, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2


foreign-owned: 16 (China 9, Germany 2, Hong Kong 4, Thailand 1) (2005)
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): Army and Air Wing no regular military forces; national police force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $41.1 million (2005 est.) NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.1% (2005 est.) NA
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Tuvaluan(s)


adjective: Tuvaluan
Natural hazards periodic droughts severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone fish
Net migration rate -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU] there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 2,022,331


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 2006 est.)
11,636 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999) NA
Population growth rate -0.46% (2006 est.) 1.47% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors - Funafuti
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: rudimentary system


domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of 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: serves particular needs for internal communications


domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands


international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite
Telephones - main lines in use 48,000 (2005) 700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 245,100 (2005) 0 (2004)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 0 (2004)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Total fertility rate 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) 3 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2002) NA%
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