Papua New Guinea (2007) | Lesotho (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.6% (male 1,107,568/female 1,070,594)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 1,745,385/female 1,643,830) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 106,487/female 122,023) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 578 (2007) | 28 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 557
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 58 under 914 m: 489 (2007) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. | 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 | 28.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.065 billion
expenditures: $1.924 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maseru |
Climate | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 5,152 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 16 September 1975 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea local short form: Papuaniugini former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.813 billion (2006 est.) | $735 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Leslie W. Rowe
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D. mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
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 Evan Jeremy PAKI
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
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 | relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2005) | $41.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power and should be the first government in decades to serve a full five-year term. The government also brought stability to the national budget, largely through expenditure control; however, it has relaxed spending constraints in 2006 and 2007 as elections approach. Numerous challenges still face the government including regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including a worsening HIV/Aids epidemic and chronic law and order and land tenure issues. Australia annually supplies $240 million in aid, which accounts for nearly 20% of the national budget. | 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 | 3.439 billion kWh (2005) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.698 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought | 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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | kina per US dollar - 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003), 3.8952 (2002) | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); Deputy Prime Minister Puka TEMU (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister elections: none; monarch is hereditary; governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by chief of state; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by governor general |
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 | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Australia 30.2%, Japan 8.2%, China 5.7% (2006) | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered | 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 - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.1%
industry: 36.7% services: 27.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | 4% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 147 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
Illicit drugs | major consumer of cannabis | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
Imports - partners | Australia 52%, Singapore 12.6%, China 5.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006) | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) |
Independence | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999) |
Industries | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 48.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2006 est.) | 6.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 3.477 million (2006 est.) | 838,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
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: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4% other: 98.11% (2005) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
Languages | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on English common law; 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 | unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital distict; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 30 June to 10 July 2007; next to be held in June 2012 election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National Alliance 27, PNGP 8, PAP 6, URP 6, PANGU 5, PDM 5, independents 19, others 33; note - election to 1 seat was nullified note: 15 other parties won 4 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid |
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: 65.62 years
male: 63.41 years female: 67.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.3% male: 63.4% female: 50.9% (2000 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 56,157 GRT/72,821 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 20, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (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 | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2007) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $32.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2005 est.) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 264 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU PATI [Andrew KUMBAKOR]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Michael OGIO]; People's Action Party or PAP [Gabriel KAPRIS]; United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] (2007) | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 5,795,887 (July 2007 est.) | 1,865,040
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2002 est.) | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 2.163% (2007 est.) | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.873 male(s)/female total population: 1.043 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: services are adequate; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
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: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 63,700 (2005) | 28,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 75,000 (2005) | 92,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area; stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned) (2004) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) | 45% (2002) |
Waterways | 11,000 km (2006) | - |