Compare Spratly Islands (2008) - Lesotho (2006)

Compare Spratly Islands (2008) z Lesotho (2006)

	Spratly Islands (2008)	Lesotho (2006)

Administrative divisions	-	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527) 15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports	3 (2007)	28 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2006)
Area	total: less than 5 sq km land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	NA	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.	Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 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	-	24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $738.5 million expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)
Capital	-	name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline	926 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	-	2 April 1993
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Spratly Islands	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland
Death rate	-	28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	-	$735 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	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 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	all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands	none
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $4.4 million
Economic aid - recipient	-	$41.5 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.	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. However, the government has recently 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, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter 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	-	363.5 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	-	38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)
Electricity - production	-	350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	-	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates	-	maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001)
Executive branch	-	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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age
Exports	-	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)
Exports - partners	-	Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	-	three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 16.3% industry: 44.3% services: 39.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 38 N, 111 55 E	29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note	strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Heliports	3 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4%
Imports	-	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)
Imports - partners	-	US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005)
Independence	-	4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	15.5% (1999)
Industries	-	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	4.7% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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
Irrigated land	0 sq km	30 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	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	-	838,000 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa industry and services: 14%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005)
Languages	-	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system	-	based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	-	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 by 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: 34.4 years male: 35.55 years female: 33.21 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references	Southeast Asia	Africa
Maritime claims	NA	none (landlocked)
Military - note	Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam	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	-	Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$41.1 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.1% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality	-	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho
Natural hazards	typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard	periodic droughts
Natural resources	fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential	water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone
Net migration rate	-	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; 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 Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states	2,022,331 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 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	49% (1999)
Population growth rate	-	-0.46% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Religions	-	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	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	-	48,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	245,100 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (2000)
Terrain	flat	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate	-	3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	45% (2002)

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