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Compare Reunion (2002) - Lesotho (2003)
Compare Reunion (2002) z Lesotho (2003)
| Reunion (2002) | Lesotho (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 2 (2001) | 28 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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 | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
| Capital | Saint-Denis | Maseru |
| Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 207 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
| Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $735 million (2002) |
| Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 (overseas department of France) | 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 | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $41.5 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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 | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
| Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
| Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
| Imports | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
| Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) |
| Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999) |
| Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 10% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | 838,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | 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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal system | French law | 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 General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
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: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | World | Africa |
| Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs |
| Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | 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: 194,485 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | 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 | 743,981 (July 2002 est.) | 1,861,959
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 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
| Population growth rate | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | none |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 173,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | 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 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 268,500 (1999) | 22,200 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 21,600 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | 45% (2002) |
| Waterways | none | none |
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