Luxembourg (2007) | Lesotho (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 46,478/female 43,656)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 161,466/female 158,261) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 28,530/female 41,831) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 28 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
Birth rate | 11.84 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $18.68 billion
expenditures: $18.65 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 49 36 N, 6 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Maseru |
Climate | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $735 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ann WAGNER
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph WEYLAND
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $235.6 million (2004) | ODA $4.4 million |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $41.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | This stable, high-income economy - benefiting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for about 60% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks second in the world. | 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, but the government has 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, also generating royalties for Lesotho. 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 and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.315 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3.131 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 6.392 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.156 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
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, which 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 determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | 283 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Germany 19.3%, France 15.5%, Italy 9.5%, UK 9.5%, Belgium 8.8%, Spain 5.3%, Netherlands 4.5% (2006) | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 6 10 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
Imports | 61,070 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
Imports - partners | Belgium 26.3%, Germany 20.1%, China 16.7%, France 8.5%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2006) | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) |
Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2006 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
Industries | banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2006 est.) | 10% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 203,000 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2006 est.) | 838,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.94%
permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%, other 2.8%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
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 direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.03 years
male: 75.76 years female: 82.52 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, between France and Germany | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 45 ships (1000 GRT or over) 682,955 GRT/858,985 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, chemical tanker 14, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: 44 (Belgium 9, France 14, Germany 10, Netherlands 1, UK 7, US 3) (2007) |
- |
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 | Army | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June; note - the actual date of birth was 23 January 1896, but the festivities were shifted by five months to allow observance during a more favorable time of year | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 155 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV [Francois BILTGEN] (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS); Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left); other minor parties | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union) | NA |
Population | 480,222 (July 2007 est.) | 1,861,959
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 1.207% (2007 est.) | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 275 km
standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (243 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.065 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.682 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 246,700 (2006) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 713,800 (2006) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.78 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2006 est.) | 45% (2002) |
Waterways | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2007) | none |