Compare Sierra Leone (2006) - Lesotho (2002)

Compare Sierra Leone (2006) z Lesotho (2002)

	Sierra Leone (2006)	Lesotho (2002)

Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 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	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports	10 (2006)	28 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	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: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006)	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability.	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	45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
Capital	name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Maseru
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline	402 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times	2 April 1993
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland
Currency	-	loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
Death rate	23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)	$715 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793	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	domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998	none
Economic aid - recipient	$297.4 million (2003 est.)	$123.7 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining.	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	242.4 million kWh (2003)	100 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	100 million kWh note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
Electricity - production	260.6 million kWh (2003)	0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Environment - current issues	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing	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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	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	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates	leones per US dollar - 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001)	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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held 28 July 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4%	chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch
Exports	NA bbl/day	$250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals
Exports - partners	Belgium 66.2%, Germany 13.5%, US 4.6% (2005)	South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue	divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 18% industry: 38% services: 44% (2001)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.5% (2005 est.)	2.6% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 30 N, 11 30 W	29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Heliports	2 (2006)	-
Highways	-	total: 4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)	lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)
Imports	NA bbl/day	$720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Germany 18.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.2%, UK 8.5%, US 6.9%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2005)	South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)	4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	15.5% (1999 est.)
Industries	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2002 est.)	6.9% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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 (2000)
Irrigated land	300 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Labor force	1.369 million (1981 est.)	700,000 economically active
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Land boundaries	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km
Land use	arable land: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005)	arable land: 10.71% permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
Languages	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2	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: 40.22 years male: 38.05 years female: 42.46 years (2006 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006)	-
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	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing)	Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$14.25 million (2005 est.)	$34 million (1999)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.7% (2005 est.)	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	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho
Natural hazards	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms	periodic droughts
Natural resources	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite	water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Net migration rate	0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2006 est.)	-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Political parties and leaders	All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others	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	trade unions and student unions	NA
Population	6,005,250 (July 2006 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	68% (1989 est.)	49% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate	2.3% (2006 est.)	1.33% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	-	NA (2002)
Railways	-	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	Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; 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	24,000 (2002)	22,200 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)	21,600 (2000)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1999)	1 (2000)
Terrain	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate	6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.)	4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	45% (2000 est.)
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)	none

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