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Compare Lesotho (2007) - West Bank (2003)
Compare Lesotho (2007) z West Bank (2003)
| Lesotho (2007) | West Bank (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | - |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 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: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
| Airports | 28 (2007) | 3 (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
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| 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: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Delaware |
| 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 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. |
| Birth rate | 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $995.8 million
expenditures: $763.2 million (2006 est.) |
revenues: $930 million
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 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) |
- |
| Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 2 April 1993 | - |
| 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: West Bank |
| Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
| Death rate | 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $652 million (2006 est.) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 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 |
- |
| 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 |
- |
| Disputes - international | none | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
| Economic aid - recipient | $68.82 million (2005) | $800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (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. | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 338.5 million kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | NA kWh |
| Electricity - production | 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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 | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
| 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%, | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
| Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.541 (2002) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
| 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 |
- |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip |
| Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
| Exports - partners | US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
| 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 | - |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 40.8% services: 41% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | -22% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) |
| Highways | - | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
| 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 | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip |
| Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
| Imports - partners | Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
| Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
| 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: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2006 est.) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 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 | - |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (1999) |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
| 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 | - |
| Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | NA |
| 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.) |
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
| Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
| Land use | arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005) |
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| 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 | - |
| 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 |
- |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.97 years
male: 40.73 years female: 39.18 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.68 years
male: 70.95 years female: 74.51 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: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Middle East, west of Jordan |
| Map references | Africa | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| 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 | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2006) | NA% |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts | droughts |
| Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone | arable land |
| Net migration rate | -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.07 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] | - |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | 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.) |
2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | 60% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.144% (2007 est.) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
| Railways | - | 0 km |
| Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 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: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 48,000 (2005) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 249,800 (2005) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | NA |
| Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
| Total fertility rate | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | - | none |
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