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Compare Russia (2001) - Lesotho (2005)

Compare Russia (2001) z Lesotho (2005)

 Russia (2001)Lesotho (2005)
 RussiaLesotho
Administrative divisions 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutsk)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name

note:
the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetiya were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure 0-14 years:
17.41% (male 12,915,026; female 12,405,341)

15-64 years:
69.78% (male 49,183,000; female 52,320,962)

65 years and over:
12.81% (male 5,941,944; female 12,703,924) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459)


15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096)


65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female 60,905) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports 2,743 (2000 est.) 28 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
471

over 3,047 m:
56

2,438 to 3,047 m:
178

1,524 to 2,437 m:
76

914 to 1,523 m:
69

under 914 m:
92 (2000 est.)
total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
2,272

over 3,047 m:
28

2,438 to 3,047 m:
118

1,524 to 2,437 m:
204

914 to 1,523 m:
324

under 914 m:
1,598 (2000 est.)
total: 25


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area total:
17,075,200 sq km

land:
16,995,800 sq km

water:
79,400 sq km
total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US slightly smaller than Maryland
Background The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the communist period. Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. 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 intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.
Birth rate 9.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 26.53 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$40 billion

expenditures:
$33.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $698.5 million


expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2004 est.)
Capital Moscow Maseru
Climate ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline 37,653 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution adopted 12 December 1993 2 April 1993
Country name conventional long form:
Russian Federation

conventional short form:
Russia

local long form:
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya

local short form:
Rossiya

former:
Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
Currency Russian ruble (RUR) -
Death rate 13.85 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 25.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $163 billion (2000 est.) $735 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador James F. COLLINS

embassy:
Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, 121099 Moscow

mailing address:
APO AE 09721

telephone:
[7] (095) 728-5000

FAX:
[7] (095) 728-5203

consulate(s) general:
Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY


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 Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV

chancery:
2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:
[1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708

FAX:
[1] (202) 298-5735

consulate(s) general:
New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
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 dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with China remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996, which has not been signed or ratified by Russia as of February 2001; draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been signed; 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia none
Economic aid - donor - ODA $4.4 million
Economic aid - recipient $8.523 billion (1995) $41.5 million (2000)
Economy - overview A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms within three to five years - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy rebounded in 1999 and 2000, buoyed by the competitive boost from the weak ruble and a surging trade surplus fueled by rising world oil prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's agricultural sector remains beset by uncertainty over land ownership rights, which has discouraged needed investment and restructuring. Another threat is negative demographic trends, fueled by low birth rates and a deteriorating health situation - including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that have contributed to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include widespread corruption, capital flight, and brain drain. 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 garment industry 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.
Electricity - consumption 728.2 billion kWh (1999) 308 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 20 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 6 billion kWh (1999) 16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - production 798.065 billion kWh (1999) 314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
66.31%

hydro:
19.79%

nuclear:
13.9%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m

highest point:
Gora El'brus 5,633 m
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Environment - current issues air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; ground water contamination from toxic waste 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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 Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5,785 (1997), 5,121 (1996)

note:
the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)

head of government:
Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); First Deputy Premier Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Deputy Premiers Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Ilya Iosifovich KLEBANOV (since 31 May 1999), Valentina Ivanovna MATVIYENKO (since 22 September 1998)

cabinet:
Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and other agency heads; all are appointed by the president

note:
there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma

election results:
Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Aadreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
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 $105.1 billion (2000 est.) NA
Exports - commodities petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine 6.5%, Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999) US 97%, Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red 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 - $1.12 trillion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
7%

industry:
34%

services:
59% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 15.2%


industry: 43.9%


services: 40.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.3% (2000 est.) 3.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 60 00 N, 100 00 E 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Highways total:
952,000 km

paved:
752,000 km (including, in addition to about 336,000 km of conventionally paved roads, about 416,000 km of roads, the surfaces of which have been stabilized with gravel or other coarse aggregates, making them trafficable in wet weather)

unpaved:
200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)
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%:
38.7% (1998)
lowest 10%: 0.9%


highest 10%: 43.4%
Illicit drugs limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of amphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe, possibly to the US, and growing domestic market; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are major concerns; heroin an increasing threat in domestic drug market -
Imports $44.2 billion (2000 est.) NA
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)
Imports - partners Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%, Ukraine 8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999) Hong Kong 46.8%, China 25.5%, South Korea 5.6%, Germany 4.8% (2004)
Independence 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 8.8% (2000 est.) 15.5% (1999)
Industries complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Infant mortality rate 20.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 79.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 20.6% (2000 est.) 5.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation APEC, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC ACP, AfDB, AU, C, The Commonwealth, 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
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 35 (2000) -
Irrigated land 40,000 sq km (1993 est.) 10 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Labor force 66 million (1997) 838,000 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 15%, industry 30%, services 55% (1999 est.) 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Land boundaries total:
19,961 km

border countries:
Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
Land use arable land:
8%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
4%

forests and woodland:
46%

other:
42% (1993 est.)
arable land: 10.87%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 89% (2001)
Languages Russian, other Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts 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 Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; half elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and half from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2003)

election results:
State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - KPRF 24.29%, Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, LDPR 5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR 67, Union of Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other 16, independents 106, repeat election required 8, vacant 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 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:
67.34 years

male:
62.12 years

female:
72.83 years (2001 est.)
total population: 34.47 years


male: 35.49 years


female: 33.42 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
98%

male:
100%

female:
97% (1989 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 84.8%


male: 74.5%


female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
Location Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references Asia Africa
Maritime claims continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total:
878 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,314,485 GRT/5,344,958 DWT

ships by type:
barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo 543, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 7, container 31, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 35, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 164, refrigerated cargo 24, roll on/roll off 17, short-sea passenger 7

note:
includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Reunion 1 (2000 est.)
-
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 Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Strategic Rocket Forces Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $32.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 2.3% (2004)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
38,866,147 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
30,337,743 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
1,242,778 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Russia Day, 12 June (1990) Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality noun:
Russian(s)

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


adjective: Basotho
Natural hazards permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula periodic droughts
Natural resources wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber

note:
formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Net migration rate 0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.) -
Political parties and leaders Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All Russia or OVR [Yuriy Mikhailovich LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Right Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; Unity [Sergey Kuzhugetovich SHOYGU]; Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]

note:
some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements registered with the Justice Ministry as of the 19 December 1998 deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19 December 1999 Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually qualified to run slates of candidates on the Duma party list ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold to win a proportional share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations hold seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov, Congress of Russian Communities, Movement in Support of the Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners, Power to the People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party, and Spiritual Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union of Right Forces), anti-market and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia)
Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 145,470,197 (July 2001 est.) 1,867,035


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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (1999 est.) 49% (1999)
Population growth rate -0.35% (2001 est.) 0.08% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Saint Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg -
Radio broadcast stations AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998) AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios 61.5 million (1997) -
Railways total:
149,000 km

note:
86,000 km are in common carrier service; 63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use; 40,000 km of the railway in common carrier use are electrified

broad gauge:
149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998)
-
Religions Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other 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:
0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.47 male(s)/female

total population:
0.88 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied

domestic:
cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density

international:
Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
general assessment: rudimentary system


domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of 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 30 million (1998) 28,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 2.5 million (October 2000) 92,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 7,306 (1998) 1 (2000)
Terrain broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate 1.27 children born/woman (2001 est.) 3.35 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 10.5% (2000 est.), plus considerable underemployment 45% (2002)
Waterways 95,900 km (total routes in general use)

note:
routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet-95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids-60,400 km; man-made navigable routes-16,900 km (Jan 1994)
-
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