Puerto Rico (2001) | Lesotho (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth associated with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.73% (male 478,441; female 455,800) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,242,245; female 1,345,421) 65 years and over: 10.55% (male 177,083; female 238,326) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 28 (2000 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
19 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total:
9,104 sq km land: 8,959 sq km water: 145 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and 1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. | 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. |
Birth rate | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.7 billion expenditures: $9.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | San Juan | Maseru |
Climate | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 501 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | commonwealth associated with the US | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | 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 | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. 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 | $NA | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 1999. Prospects for 2001 are clouded by a probable slowing down in both the construction and tourist sectors and by increasing inflation, particularly in energy and food prices; estimated growth will be 2%. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of 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 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. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.587 billion kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 16.76 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
98.45% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages | 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 | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); 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:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Sila M. CALDERON (since NA January 2001) cabinet: appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Sila M. CALDERON (PDP) elected governor; percent of vote - 48.8% |
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 | $38.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | US 88% (2000) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag, but based on the Cuban flag | 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 - $39 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 45% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 66 30 W | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total:
14,400 km paved: 14,400 km unpaved: 0 km (1996) |
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%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
Imports | $27 billion (c.i.f., 2000) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 60% (2000) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2000 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate) | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 76 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 390 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Superior Courts; Municipal Courts (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 1.3 million (2000) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77% (2000 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 16% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, English | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil code | 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 Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (28 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (54 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 19, PPD 7, PIP 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 30, PPD 20, PIP 1, other 3 note: Puerto Rico elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; elections last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPD 1 (Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA) |
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:
75.76 years male: 71.28 years female: 80.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | 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 | paramilitary National Guard, Police Force | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) adjective: Puerto Rican |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; hurricanes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | -2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Democratic Party [Celeste BENITEZ]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Luis FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Hector Luis ACEVEDO]; Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] | 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 | Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN; Armed Forces of Popular Resistance; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution | NA |
Population | 3,937,316 (July 2001 est.) | 2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.54% (2001 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 72, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 2.7 million (1997) | NA (2002) |
Railways | total:
96 km narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; no passenger service |
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 85%, Protestant and other 15% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system, integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.322 million (1997) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 169,265 (1996) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 18 (plus three stations of the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.5% (2000) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |