Netherlands Antilles (2007) | Lesotho (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.6% (male 27,020/female 25,726)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 72,449/female 78,259) 65 years and over: 9% (male 8,243/female 11,955) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 960 sq km
land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million (2004) |
revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Willemstad (on Curacao)
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maseru |
Climate | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 364 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.68 billion (2004) | $720 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON
consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON 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 | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Jeffrey CORRION, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO 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 - recipient | $21.32 million
note: IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) |
$123.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past eight years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Most of the oil Netherlands Antilles imports for its refineries come from Venezuela. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. |
Electricity - consumption | 891 million kWh (2005) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.175 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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:
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 | mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002) | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held by 2010) note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP-St. M, UPB, WIPM Saba, DP-St. E |
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 | NA bbl/day | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
Exports - partners | US 28.5%, Panama 12%, Mexico 9.4%, Haiti 5.6%, Singapore 5.1%, Bahamas, The 4.5% (2006) | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten | 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 - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 15 N, 68 45 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao); the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | - | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactures | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
Imports - partners | Venezuela 71.2%, US 10.4%, Italy 3.7% (2006) | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (2003 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 83,600 (2005) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Saint Martin 15 km |
total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence | 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 States or Staten (22 seats, Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP-St. E 1, DP-St. M 1, PDB 1, WIPM 1 note: the government is a coalition of several parties |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.24 years
male: 73.96 years female: 78.65 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 138 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,096,005 GRT/1,437,692 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 4, cargo 70, carrier 12, chemical tanker 3, container 10, liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 125 (Belgium 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 48, Netherlands 53, Norway 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 12, US 1) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | 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 | no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Bonaire: Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]
Curacao: Ban Vota [Norbert GEORGE]; C-93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; E Mayoria [Aurelio PEDRO]; Forsa Korsou [Nelson NAVARRO]; Liste Ni'un Paso Atras [Nelson PIERRE]; Movemiento Patriotiko Korsou [Reginald LAK]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Partido Akshon Pa Prosperidat I Seguridat [Sonja BERKEMEYER]; Partido Laboral Krusada Popular or PLKP [Errol COVA]; Party for the Restructured Antilles or PAR [Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pidjin [Jasmin PINEDO]; Pueblo Soberano [Herman WIELS]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT] Saba: Saba Labor Party [Akilah LEVENSTONE]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Ray HASSELL] Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Progressive Labor Party [Clyde VAN PUTTEN]; St. Eustatius Alliance [Ingrid HOUTMAN-WHITFIELD] Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Freedom Slate of National Democratic Party [Theophilus PRIEST]; National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [Gracita ARRINDELL]; St. Maarten People's Party [Johan LEONARD]; United People's Labor Party [Bienvenido RICHARDSON] note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
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; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; 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 | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) | NA |
Population | 223,652 (July 2007 est.) | 2,177,062
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.777% (2007 est.) | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 104,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 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 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.926 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.929 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally adequate facilities
domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 81,000 (2001) | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 200,000 (2004) | 1,262 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2003) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | generally hilly, volcanic interiors | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17% (2002 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |