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Compare Nicaragua (2006) - Lesotho (2008)

Compare Nicaragua (2006) z Lesotho (2008)

 Nicaragua (2006)Lesotho (2008)
 NicaraguaLesotho
Administrative divisions 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure 0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)


15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353)


65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.)
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.)
Agriculture - products coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports 176 (2006) 28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 3 (2006)
total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 165


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 141 (2006)
total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2007)
Area total: 129,494 sq km


land: 120,254 sq km


water: 9,240 sq km
total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the state of New York slightly smaller than Maryland
Background The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. 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, 1996, and 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. 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.
Birth rate 24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 24.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.134 billion


expenditures: $1.358 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
revenues: $951.4 million


expenditures: $855.4 million (2007 est.)
Capital name: Managua


geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W


time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Maseru


geographic coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline 910 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 2 April 1993
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua


conventional short form: Nicaragua


local long form: Republica de Nicaragua


local short form: Nicaragua
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


local short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
Death rate 4.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 22.49 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $3.188 billion (2005 est.) $693 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI


embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua


mailing address: P.O. Box 327


telephone: [505] 266-6010


FAX: [505] 266-3861
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
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN


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


telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573


FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545


consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
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
Disputes - international Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica none
Economic aid - recipient $419.5 million (2005 est.) $68.82 million (2005)
Economy - overview Nicaragua, one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, has low per capita income, widespread underemployment, and a heavy external debt burden. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because of its earlier successful performances under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. High oil prices helped drive inflation to 9.6% in 2005, leading to a fall in real GDP growth to 4% from over 5% in 2004. 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.
Electricity - consumption 1.848 billion kWh (2004) 338.5 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 21.8 million kWh (2004) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 23.3 million kWh (2004) 13 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)
Electricity - production 2.887 billion kWh (2004) 350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
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 mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates gold cordobas per US dollar - 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001) maloti per US dollar - 7.25 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo was elected Vice President by the deputies of the National Assembly after Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon resigned on 27 September 2005


head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005)


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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)


election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE (ALN) 29%, Jose RIZO (PLC) 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN (MRS) 6.44%; note - ORTEGA will take office 10 January 2007
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 758.9 bbl/day (2004) 0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners US 60.7%, Mexico 8.6%, El Salvador 6.2% (2005) US 81.9%, Belgium 15%, Canada 1.9% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description 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 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 - composition by sector agriculture: 16.5%


industry: 27.5%


services: 56% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 15.2%


industry: 45%


services: 39.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2005 est.) 4.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 13 00 N, 85 00 W 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.2%


highest 10%: 45% (2001)
lowest 10%: 0.9%


highest 10%: 43.4% (2002 est.)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing -
Imports 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) 1,400 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - partners US 19.6%, Mexico 10.3%, Venezuela 9.5%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Guatemala 6.7%, El Salvador 4.5%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) Hong Kong 33.4%, China 31.2%, Germany 7.7%, India 7.3% (2006)
Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain) 4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 2.4% (2005 est.) 12% (2007 est.)
Industries food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 28.11 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 24.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 9.6% (2005 est.) 12% (2007 est.)
International organization participation BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO 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
Irrigated land 610 sq km (2003) 30 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) 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 2.01 million (2005 est.) 838,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 30.5%


industry: 17.3%


services: 52.2% (2003 est.)
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.)
Land boundaries total: 1,231 km


border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
Land use arable land: 14.81%


permanent crops: 1.82%


other: 83.37% (2005)
arable land: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2005)
Languages Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)


note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; 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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)


elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS)
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: 70.63 years


male: 68.55 years


female: 72.81 years (2006 est.)
total population: 39.97 years


male: 40.73 years


female: 39.18 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 67.5%


male: 67.2%


female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 84.8%


male: 74.5%


female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
Location Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm


continental shelf: natural prolongation
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 Army (includes Navy, Air Force) Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure $32.27 million (2005 est.) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.7% (2005 est.) 2.6% (2006)
National holiday Independence Day, 15 September (1821) Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality noun: Nicaraguan(s)


adjective: Nicaraguan
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
Natural hazards destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes periodic droughts
Natural resources gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Net migration rate -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines oil 54 km (2006) -
Political parties and leaders Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Mario Sebastian RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU 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 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 NA
Population 5,570,129 (July 2006 est.) 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.)
Population below poverty line 50% (2001 est.) 49% (1999)
Population growth rate 1.89% (2006 est.) 0.144% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 6 km


narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)
-
Religions Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Sex ratio 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: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
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.)
Suffrage 16 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system 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: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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)
Telephones - main lines in use 220,900 (2005) 48,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.119 million (2005) 249,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) 1 (2000)
Terrain extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate 2.75 children born/woman (2006 est.) 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2005 est.) 45% (2002)
Waterways 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2005) -
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