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Compare Lesotho (2008) - Nicaragua (2001)

Compare Lesotho (2008) z Nicaragua (2001)

 Lesotho (2008)Nicaragua (2001)
 LesothoNicaragua
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*
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:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141)

15-64 years:
58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096)

65 years and over:
2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products
Airports 28 (2007) 182 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total:
11

2,438 to 3,047 m:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3

914 to 1,523 m:
3

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2007)
total:
171

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
25

under 914 m:
145 (2000 est.)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total:
129,494 sq km

land:
120,254 sq km

water:
9,240 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than the state of New York
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 was reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven 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. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to periodically demonstrate their distrust of the results. Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Birth rate 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $951.4 million


expenditures: $855.4 million (2007 est.)
revenues:
$734 million

expenditures:
$836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 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)
Managua
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 910 km
Constitution 2 April 1993 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000
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 Nicaragua

conventional short form:
Nicaragua

local long form:
Republica de Nicaragua

local short form:
Nicaragua
Currency - gold cordoba (NIO)
Death rate 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $693 million (31 December 2007 est.) $6.4 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Robert NOLAN


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 Oliver P. GARZA

embassy:
Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua

mailing address:
APO AA 34021

telephone:
[505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033

FAX:
[505] (2) 669074
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mabasia MOHOBANE


chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536


FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina

chancery:
1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-6570

FAX:
[1] (202) 939-6542

consulate(s) general:
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York
Disputes - international none territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Economic aid - recipient $68.82 million (2005) NA
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. In July 2007 Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001.
Electricity - consumption 338.5 million kWh (2005) 2.265 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 20 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) 100 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) 2.349 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
67.26%

hydro:
17.71%

nuclear:
0%

other:
15.03% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mogoton 2,438 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; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (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
chief of state:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years

election results:
Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33%
Exports 0 bbl/day (2004) $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold
Exports - partners US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006) US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999)
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 three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
GDP - purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 15.2%


industry: 45%


services: 39.7% (2007 est.)
agriculture:
31.6%

industry:
22.8%

services:
45.6% (1999)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.8% (2007 est.) 5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 13 00 N, 85 00 W
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level -
Highways - total:
16,382 km

paved:
1,818 km

unpaved:
14,564 km (1998)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.9%


highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)
lowest 10%:
1.6%

highest 10%:
39.8% (1993)
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports 1,400 bbl/day (2004) $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods
Imports - partners Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006) US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 12% (2007 est.) 4.4% (2000 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
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.)
33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 12% (2007 est.) 11% (2000 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 3 (2000)
Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) 880 sq km (1993 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 Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force 838,000 (2000 est.) 1.7 million (1999)
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 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
total:
1,231 km

border countries:
Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use arable land: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2005)
arable land:
9%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
27%

other:
17% (1993 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Spanish (official)

note:
English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
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 civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
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 Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1
Life expectancy at birth total population: 39.97 years


male: 40.73 years


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

male:
67.1 years

female:
71.11 years (2001 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:
65.7%

male:
64.6%

female:
66.6% (1995 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) continental shelf:
natural prolongation

territorial sea:
200 NM
Merchant marine - none (2000 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 Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $26 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.6% (2006) 1.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males:
58,232 (2001 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun:
Nicaraguan(s)

adjective:
Nicaraguan
Natural hazards periodic droughts destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 56 km
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] Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups
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.)
4,918,393 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999) 50% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate 0.144% (2007 est.) 2.15% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors - Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios - 1.24 million (1997)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant
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:
1.04 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 16 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:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment

domestic:
low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System

international:
satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 48,000 (2005) 140,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular 249,800 (2005) 7,911 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2002) 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.)
Waterways - 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes)
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