Sao Tome and Principe (2003) | Lesotho (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.7% (male 42,480; female 41,411)
15-64 years: 48.3% (male 41,043; female 43,986) 65 years and over: 4% (male 3,197; female 3,766) (2003 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 | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 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: 1,001 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's economy. | 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 | 41.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $58 million
expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Sao Tome | Maseru |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 209 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | dobra (STD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $253.8 million (2000) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands | 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 | Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580 | 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 | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 28 years ago. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices brighten prospects for 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has been rewarded by international donors, who pledged increased assistance in 2001. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic that substantial petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea; production could begin as early as 2004. | 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 | 15.81 million kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 17 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41.2%
hydro: 58.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | dobras per US dollar - NA (2002), 8,842.11 (2001), 7,978.17 (2000), 7,118.96 (1999), 6,883.24 (1998) | 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 Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Maria das NEVES (since 7 October 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% |
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 (2001) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 30.1%, Poland 11.8%, Canada 9.7%, Germany 7.5%, Philippines 7.5%, Spain 7.5%, Belgium 6.5%, France 4.3%, Portugal 4.3% (2002) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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 - $200 million (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 10% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 7 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 320 km
paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1999 est.) |
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 | NA (2001) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Portugal 51.4%, Germany 10.1%, UK 7.6%, Belgium 6.3% (2002) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 46.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2002 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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) | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | NA | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
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: 2%
permanent crops: 41% other: 57% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on Portuguese legal system and customary 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 Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 |
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: 66.28 years
male: 64.79 years female: 67.82 years (2003 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: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,595 GRT/99,873 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 15, chemical tanker 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 1, Kenya 1, Portugal 1, Syria 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
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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 | Army, Navy, Security Police | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $400,000 (FY01) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (FY01) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 36,905 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 19,443 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Sao Tomean(s)
adjective: Sao Tomean |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, hydropower | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | -2.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties | 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 | 175,883 (July 2003 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 | 3.18% (2003 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
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 | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate facilities
domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 | 4,600 (2000) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,942 (1997) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.88 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |