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Compare Lesotho (2007) - Guinea-Bissau (2003)

Compare Lesotho (2007) z Guinea-Bissau (2003)

 Lesotho (2007)Guinea-Bissau (2003)
 LesothoGuinea-Bissau
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Age structure 0-14 years: 35.7% (male 382,308/female 377,303)


15-64 years: 59.3% (male 613,979/female 645,818)


65 years and over: 5% (male 42,621/female 63,233) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)


15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Airports 28 (2007) 28 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


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 (2007)
total: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 36,120 sq km


land: 28,000 sq km


water: 8,120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
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 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998 created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war.
Birth rate 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $995.8 million


expenditures: $763.2 million (2006 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital name: Maseru


geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Bissau
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 350 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996
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: Republic of Guinea-Bissau


conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau


local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau


local short form: Guine-Bissau


former: Portuguese Guinea
Currency - Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used
Death rate 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $652 million (2006 est.) $941.5 million (2000 est.)
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 Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903
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 Henrique Adriano DA SILVA


chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005


telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950


FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954
Disputes - international none separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau
Economic aid - recipient $68.82 million (2005) $115.4 million (1995)
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 and also generates royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. 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. One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003.
Electricity - consumption 338.5 million kWh (2005) 51.15 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) 55 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)


note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
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, that 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: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003


head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003)


cabinet: NA


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature


election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%


note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government
Exports NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006) India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002)
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 two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
GDP - purchasing power parity - $901.4 million (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18.2%


industry: 40.8%


services: 41% (2006 est.)
agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.2% (2006 est.) -4.3% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 12 00 N, 15 00 W
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
Highways - total: 4,400 km


paved: 453 km


unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.9%


highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)
lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
Imports NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006) Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999) 2.6% (1997 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Infant mortality rate total: 79.85 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 84.4 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 75.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.1% (2006 est.) 4% (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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 2 (2002)
Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) 170 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Labor force 838,000 (2000) 480,000
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% (2002 est.)
agriculture 82% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Land use arable land: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2005)
arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 1.78%


other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
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 popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)


elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003


elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 2003)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates
Life expectancy at birth total population: 39.97 years


male: 40.73 years


female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)
total population: 46.97 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.91 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: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) 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): Army and Air Wing People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $5.6 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.6% (2006) 2.8% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Guinean(s)


adjective: Guinean
Natural hazards periodic droughts hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Net migration rate -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [Pheelo MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; New Lesotho Freedom Party or NLFP [Manapo MAJARA]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO] African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 2,125,262


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 2007 est.)
1,360,827 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999) NA%
Population growth rate 0.144% (2007 est.) 2.02% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors - Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)
Railways - 0 km
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.674 male(s)/female


total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding


domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 per 100 persons; rural services are scant


international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: small system


domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 48,000 (2005) 10,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 249,800 (2005) 0 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) NA (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Total fertility rate 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2002) NA%
Waterways - several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping
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