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Compare Lesotho (2007) - Reunion (2005)
Compare Lesotho (2007) z Reunion (2005)
| Lesotho (2007) | Reunion (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
| 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: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
| Airports | 28 (2007) | 2 (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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
- |
| Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| 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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
| Birth rate | 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $995.8 million
expenditures: $763.2 million (2006 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
| Capital | name: Maseru
geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint-Denis |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
| Death rate | 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $652 million (2006 est.) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 department of France) |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $68.82 million (2005) | NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (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. 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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
| Electricity - consumption | 338.5 million kWh (2005) | 1.084 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | 1.166 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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (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, 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
| Exports - partners | US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
| 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 | the flag of France is used |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 40.8% services: 41% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
| Highways | - | total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
| 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: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2006 est.) | NA% |
| 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 | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (2003) | 120 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 | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
| Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 309,900 (2000) |
| 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 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
| 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: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | French (official), Creole widely used |
| 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 | French law |
| 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 General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.97 years
male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Map references | Africa | World |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 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 | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone | fish, arable land, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
| 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.) |
776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.144% (2007 est.) | 1.38% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Le Port |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 48,000 (2005) | 300,000 est (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 249,800 (2005) | 489,800 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
| Total fertility rate | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 36% (1999 est.) |
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