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Compare Oman (2008) - Lesotho (2001)
Compare Oman (2008) z Lesotho (2001)
| Oman (2008) | Lesotho (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi*, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar (Dhofar)* | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (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 | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 137 (2007) | 29 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 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 Kansas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. | 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 | 35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $13.82 billion
expenditures: $13.67 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
| Capital | name: Muscat
geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maseru |
| Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 2,092 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
| Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $3.483 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $720 million (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gary A. GRAPPO
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-643-400 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
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 | boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $30.68 million (2005) | $123.7 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Oman is a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources, but sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006, and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. As a result of its dwindling oil resources, Oman is actively pursuing a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialization, and privatization, with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to GDP to 9 percent by 2020. Muscat is attempting to "Omanize" the labor force by replacing foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. | 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 | 8.661 billion 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 | 11.89 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: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2007), 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003) | 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: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
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 | 733,100 bbl/day (2004) | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
| Exports - partners | China 23.6%, South Korea 17.9%, Japan 10.9%, Thailand 10.7%, South Africa 7.7%, UAE 6.3% (2006) | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band | 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: 2.2%
industry: 38.3% services: 59.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2007 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
| Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
| 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) |
| Imports | 15,440 bbl/day (2004) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
| Imports - partners | UAE 22.4%, Japan 16.4%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.5%, India 4.3% (2006) | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
| Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (2007 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
| Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2007 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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 | 720 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a law |
High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | 920,000 (2002 est.) | 700,000 economically active |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2005) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted 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 | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla or upper chamber (70 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura or lower chamber (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 27 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: new candidates won 46 seats and 38 members of the outgoing Majlis kept their positions; none of the 20 female candidates were elected |
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: 73.62 years
male: 71.37 years female: 75.99 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 81.4% male: 86.8% female: 73.5% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,155 GRT/7,244 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (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 | Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF): Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2007) | 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 | 11.4% (2005 est.) | 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 | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
| Net migration rate | 0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 4,126 km; oil 3,558 km (2007) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
| Population | 3,204,897
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (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 | 3.234% (2007 est.) | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | 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 | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.419 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.238 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 | 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership both increasing; open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: country code - 968; the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat |
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 | 278,300 (2006) | 20,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.818 million (2006) | 1,262 (1996) |
| Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 15% (2004 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | - | none |
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