Compare Lesotho (2007) - Poland (2005)

Compare Lesotho (2007) z Poland (2005)

	Lesotho (2007)	Poland (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie
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: 16.7% (male 3,319,176/female 3,150,859) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 13,506,153/female 13,638,265) 65 years and over: 13% (male 1,912,431/female 3,108,260) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork
Airports	28 (2007)	123 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 84 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2007)	total: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 312,685 sq km land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly smaller than New Mexico
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.	Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
Birth rate	24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $995.8 million expenditures: $763.2 million (2006 est.)	revenues: $44.52 billion expenditures: $54.93 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Warsaw
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	491 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997
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 Poland conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska
Death rate	22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$652 million (2006 est.)	$99.15 billion (2004 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	chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow
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 Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Disputes - international	none	as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules
Economic aid - recipient	$68.82 million (2005)	$17 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06)
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.	Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done, especially in bringing down unemployment. The privatization of small and medium-sized state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government has introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007. Additional reductions are under discussion in the legislature but could be trumped by election-year politics in 2005. Poland joined the EU in May 2004, and surging exports to the EU contributed to Poland's strong growth in 2004, though its competitiveness could be threatened by the zloty's appreciation. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Poland stands to benefit from nearly $13.5 billion in EU funds, available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via higher food prices and EU agricultural subsidies.
Electricity - consumption	338.5 million kWh (2005)	117.4 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	11.5 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)	4.5 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)	133.8 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m highest point: Rysy 2,499 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	situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government
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: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94
Ethnic groups	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002)	zlotych per US dollar - 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000) note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
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 Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA (since 24 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1%
Exports	NA bbl/day	53,000 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003)
Exports - partners	US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006)	Germany 30%, Italy 6.1%, France 6%, UK 5.4%, Czech Republic 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (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	two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 18.2% industry: 40.8% services: 41% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 2.9% industry: 31.3% services: 65.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.2% (2006 est.)	5.6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	52 00 N, 20 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
Heliports	-	3 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 364,697 km paved: 249,088 km (including 399 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,609 km (2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 24.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe
Imports	NA bbl/day	413,700 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products	machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003)
Imports - partners	Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006)	Germany 24.4%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.3%, France 6.7%, China 4.6% (2004)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	10% (2004 est.)
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism	machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
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: 8.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.1% (2006 est.)	3.4% (2004 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 (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	1,000 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 (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms)
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	17.02 million (2004 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% (2002 est.)	agriculture 16.1%, industry 29%, services 54.9% (2002)
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	total: 2,788 km border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005)	arable land: 45.91% permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
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	mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg
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	bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held September 25 2005 (next to be held by September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 39.97 years male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)	total population: 74.74 years male: 70.71 years female: 79.03 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: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Central Europe, east of Germany
Map references	Africa	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties
Merchant marine	-	total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 107 (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	Land Forces, Navy, Polish Air Force (PSP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$3.5 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2006)	1.71% (2002)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Pole(s) adjective: Polish
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	flooding
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone	coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
Net migration rate	-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004)
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]	Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or KL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Jozef OLEKSY]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK]
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.)	38,635,144 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	18.4% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate	0.144% (2007 est.)	0.03% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 23,852 km broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational) (11,962 km electrified) (2004)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)
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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	48,000 (2005)	12.3 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	249,800 (2005)	17.401 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
Total fertility rate	3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	19.5% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003)

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